Queen Of The Castle
by AsAmyAsAlways
Summary: When Princess Circa of Ivistor travels to Camelot for the first time, never did she imagine the adventures that would unfold; saving the kingdom from two High Priestesses and a corrupt King, protecting the people she loves, taking on the role of Queen and navigating the winding paths of romance with a certain Prince. The minute Circa stepped into Camelot, her life changed forever.
1. Chapter 1

"No, no. This one, Circa." Treila said as she held up a dark red, flowing gown with a low neckline and lace bodice.

"Alright, fine." I said, giving in to my little sister. We were getting ready to make the journey to Camelot where our Father, King Arden of Ivistor, was to take part in peace talks with King Uther of Camelot and the other rulers of the five kingdoms.

Our father had insisted that Treila and I both come, since one day one of us would be Queen and diplomacy would be a big part in the running of the kingdom.

There was one big difference between the two kingdoms of Ivistor and Camelot. Here, people were free to practice magic as they please and we would only intervene when dark magic was used. Whereas Camelot had exiled magic almost thirty years ago and even the slightest whisper of the word would send Uther into an execution frenzy. As a result of this difference the relationship between the Kings was tense and even though neither Treila nor I had met King Uther and his son Arthur, I was sure I was determined not like them.

I had never dabbled in magic but over the past year Treila had been teaching herself, which had already resulted in her turning my bed into a hundred toads and had caused all her hair to fall out. However, this did not deter her from wanting to learn more, so the rest of the palace learnt to put up with all manner of peculiarity.

"You know we're only gone for a week." I said to my sister as she lugged a huge case full of things to the door.

"Yes, but I never know what occasion I'll need to dress for." She replied matter of factly and I rolled my eyes as I went behind the screen to change into her choice of gown.

"Better?" I asked as I came out from behind the screen.

"Perfect." She smiled happily as there was a knock on the door. "Enter." Treila called and the door opened to reveal one of the palace guards standing in the doorway.

"The King wishes to know when you'll be ready." He said.

"We're ready now." I said and the guard nodded before looking despairingly at Treila's huge case. "Good luck with that." I said apologetically.

"Thanks. I'm going to need it." he replied, before hauling it out of the room.

I walked over to the mirror and checked my reflection once more. Half or my long, dark brown hair was tied up at the back, letting the rest fall down my back, with two shorted pieces left to hang at the front to frame my face. Small red beads were placed throughout my hair, making it look like red raindrops.

The dress Treila had chosen was perfect, although I wouldn't tell her that to her face. Even though the dress was a little to low-cut for my taste, my chest filled it politely.

Treila came to stand next to me and looked at herself with the same, blue eyes as me. We looked very similar, despite the three year difference. Same tanned skin from days spent bathing in the sea on Ivistor's boarders or out hunting, same athletic build and even same rings, which had been given to us by our mother as children, before she had died. However, the main difference was that Treila had blonde, curly hair, like our Mother's and I had inherited our Father's dark, straight locks.

"Come on. If we don't get going Father will have our heads." I said and pulled Treila away from the mirror and out of the room. We hurried down the white, stone steps of the palace and out into the courtyard where our Father was waiting with our best knights.

"Finally. I was beginning to think you'd gotten lost in the castle." Father laughed. "You both look beautiful. You truly live up to what they say, that you are the most beautiful women in all the lands." He said proudly.

"Father." I groaned sarcastically as a guard helped me onto my horse. "Good boy." I said to the black stallion as I stroked his neck.

"If we leave now we'll arrive in Camelot early afternoon." Father said and the party began to make it's way out of the courtyard and soon we were riding through lush forests and past lakes towards Camelot.

"You know what I'm looking forward to?" Treila asked me as she rode beside me.

"Do I want to know?" I asked skeptically.

"Trust me. You will." She said knowingly. "I hear that the knights of Camelot are very handsome, as brave as lions and the noblest of them all." She said eagerly.

"Of course that's what you're most excited about. I should've guessed. You're so predictable." I laughed.

"And so are you. I bet you'll turn your nose up at even the most handsome of

men." She replied.

"Because I have all the time in the world for that. For now, I'm focusing on my swordsmanship and riding." I pointed out. "Besides, anyone associated with Uther is guilty of persecution against those with magic, so no thank you." I finished as there was a shout from up ahead. We'd reached Camelot and soon I saw a tall, grey castle looming up ahead from between the thick forest.

Soon, our procession clattered into the stone courtyard of Camelot and their guards caught our horses. I was helped from my horse and walked beside Treila as the group was lead into the palace.

"Do I look okay?" Treila asked hurriedly as we arrived outside a large set of double, wooden doors.

"You have mud on your face." I lied.

"Really?" She squeaked.

"No. You look fine." I replied giving her a sideways smile.

"Oh, I hate you." She bristled, but didn't mean it. The large doors suddenly swung open to reveal a long room with wooden floorboards and huge floor to ceiling windows. Our Father walked into the room, followed by us and then our knights.

King Uther stood in the middle of the room with whom I assumed was his son Prince Arthur and behind them stood the knights of Camelot.

I glanced at Treila and tried to hide smirk as I saw her examining them intently.

"Uther. It's good to see you again my friend." Father said as the two kings embraced.

"Arden. Welcome back to Camelot." Uther grinned.

"It's good to see the enemy's territory again." Father teased. "When do the other's arrive?"

"Not till tomorrow." Uther replied. As I watched the two Kings speaking I linked my fingers together behind my back. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Prince Arthur. I hadn't had the chance to get a good look at him, so I went to glance at him, but quickly looked away when I saw he was looking at me.

"May I present my daughters." I Father said. "This is Princess Treila." He said and my sister stepped forward and curtseyed in front of Uther. "And my eldest, Princess Circa." Father added as I stepped forward and curtseyed.

"It is true what they say. You are the most beautiful in the land." Uther said.

"Thank you, my lord." I replied politely.

"And this is my son, Arthur." Uther said and patted his son on the shoulder who nodded at us.

. . .

"This'll be yours for the duration of your stay." A servant said as she walked into one of the castle chambers, with me following behind her. The room had wood paneling, a large bed and a set of three, brightly coloured, stain-glass windows. "Most of our guests are very comfortable here."

"Thank you…uh" I trailed off, realising I didn't know her name.

"Guinevere. But most people call me Gwen." She smiled.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Gwen. " I smiled in return.

"Is there anything I can get for you?" she asked.

"Tell me, Gwen. If you had a free day in Camelot how would you spend it?" I asked, not feeling like being cooped up inside all day.

"Oh, well, uh, I'd probably go to the markets in the lower town." She replied. "They have some lovely things."

"Excellent. I'll get Treila and let's go to the markets." I said happily but stopped when I saw Gwen's slightly stunned expression. It didn't take me long to work out what was wrong. "I'm sorry. Back in Ivistor we're taught to treat our servants and guards like friends so everyone feels equal and enjoys their work." I rattled off.

"Oh, that's lovely." She said wistfully. "In that case, let's go to the markets." She smiled and I grinned.

After dragging Treila out of her room, Gwen lead us down, through the castle to the lower town where there was a long line of stalls in the street, selling everything from food to shawls and jewellery. As Gwen and Treila looked at beautifully patterned cloth, I walked a little further down to a stall selling silver rings. My mother had always loved rings and since she died I made sure I had plenty on each hand.

"Pardon me, my lady. I believe this belongs to you." I heard a voice say behind me and I turned around to see one of Camelot's knights, one who'd met us in the great hall, standing there with a small flower in his hand.

"Does it?" I asked skeptically.

"Of course." He said and bowed slightly, holding out the flower to me.

"Thank you, Sir Knight." I said, taking the flower.

"Gwaine." He grinned.

"Thank you, Gwaine. But why don't you give it to someone more receptive of your affections." I suggested.

"Ah, you see, but I only have eyes for you." He continued and I raised an eyebrow. He looked hopeful a moment longer before sighing, clearly confused and slightly concerned. "This usually works." He thought aloud.

"Sorry." I said, as I let a laugh slip out. "Here. Why don't you try my sister, Treila?" I suggested and pointed to her.

"Ah, yes. I was going to try her next." He said.

"Well don't tell her that." I suggested as I handed him back the flower.

"Got it." He grinned. "My Lady." He said, bowing once more before making a beeline for Treila. "Excuse me, my lady. I believe this belongs to you." I heard him say to her and I shook my head.

"Don't mind Gwaine." I heard Gwen say behind me. "He's rough around the edges and a lot of fun, but he's as loyal as they come. Your sister will be fine with him."

"It's not her you should be worried about." I replied as Treila and Gwaine walked past. She looked over her shoulder and gave me an excited smile, to which I replied to with a grin. "You know Gwaine well?" I asked.

"I know all the knights." She replied. "My brother, Elyan is one of them."

"Did I hear my name?" I heard someone ask and Gwen and I looked further up the markets to see four knights surrounding Prince Arthur coming down the street. One of them was grinning and looked almost identical to Gwen.

"Don't flatter yourself. Your heads already big enough as it is." Gwen replied and Elyan came over to hug her as we were joined by the rest of the group.

"Princess." Prince Arthur greeted me with a slight bow.

"My lord." I replied.

"May I introduce Camelot's finest knights." He began. "This is Percival." He said, nodding towards a tall man with closely cut brown hair and the biggest muscles I'd even seen, visible from his short-sleeved chainmail. I would have felt intimidated by him if I hadn't seen him smile, which softened his face immediately.

"Lancelot." Arthur continued and patted a man with short brown hair and brown eyes on the back, who nodded.

"Leon." Arthur said, and a man with curly, light brown hair smiled.

"And Elyan." Arthur finished. "I have no idea where Gwaine is though." He added.

"That's okay. I've already met Gwaine." I smirked.

"And you're still sane? That's very impressed." Leon said, shaking his head as I laughed. The knights began talking with Gwen and Elyan, so I took my chance to ask a question that had been in the back of my mind all afternoon.

"My lord…" I began, turning to the Prince.

"Please, just call me Arthur." He said waving his hand dismissively as we began to continue walking down the street.

"Arthur, am I wrong in believing that King Uther has a ward, the Lady…Morgana?" I asked.

As soon as I mentioned her name an exhausted look washed over Arthur's face. "It's complicated." He sighed.

"Forgive me, you don't have say anything." I said quickly.

"No, it's fine." He said, shaking it off. "Morgana _was_ Uther's ward, and over time she discovered she had magic. No one knew and I was too busy to notice how she was suffering."

"Poor girl." I said, shaking my head. "She would have been terrified, and once she realised what was going on she couldn't tell anyone. Add that onto the fact that those she loved would have her burnt at the stake without a second thought." I finished and it was quiet for a while before Arthur continued.

"My father, for one reason or another, kept it hidden from us that Morgana was his daughter, my sister." He said. "This just hurt her further and she became hell-bent on making Uther suffer as she had suffered. So she de-throned him with her half-sister and sorceress Morgause but she was forced out of Camelot." He said and sighed. "No one saw it coming. She was always so kind and compassionate, but all the while she was deceiving us and attempted to take my Father's life more that once."

"There is no hope for her?" I asked.

"She killed innocent civilians to prove her hatred for my father." He said bitterly. "So he would suffer as so many others had at his hand."

"So where is she now?" I asked.

"We haven't heard of her in six months, but it is rumored that she and Morgause are in Cenred's land under his protection. But these are nothing but rumors." He

replied. "And I fear she will not rest until she sits upon the throne."

"Which means she wants you dead just as much as Uther." I guessed and he nodded. "Well, I am truly sorry, Arthur. It must be hard for those involved in magic, especially if they are so unwillingly." I said, thoughtfully.

"My father has always said that magic was evil and a great plague upon Camelot." Arthur said.

"And do you believe that to be true?" I asked, stopping and turning to face him.

"It does not matter what I think. As long as the people of Camelot are safe, then that is all I care about." He replied.

"I do not wish to turn you against your father, but magic itself isn't evil. It's those who use it." I said. "In Ivistor we have nothing against magic, but if a crime is committed, actions are taken, magic or not."

"You see, that is where our customs differ the most." Arthur said and I nodded in agreement.

"Yes. While it can be used for evil, it can also be used to save lives, to help suffering people and for a bit of fun sometimes." I said. "My sister, Treila has caused quite a bit of havoc in the palace."

"She has magic?" Arthur asked.

"She's learning." I replied and I noticed he looked concerned.

"It's alright for you to disagree. Not everyone can be pleased." I said. "But we have a duty to our people and if they have done nothing wrong, then we do nothing." I finished as there was a commotion up ahead and two knights came towards us, dragging an elderly man between them.

"What happened?" Arthur asked them immediately.

"This man has been harbouring a sorcery in his house." One of the knight's said.

"I did not know! Please. I didn't know!" the man cried.

"Take him to the dungeons." Arthur ordered and the poor man was dragged

away. I hurried after Arthur as he followed behind the trio.

"What's going to happen to him?" I asked worriedly.

"He'll go on trial and will probably be sentenced to death." Arthur replied.

"What? For giving shelter to a stranger?" I asked, astounded.

"He was consorting with a sorcerer." Arthur replied.

"Which he didn't know about." I argued.

"The laws in Camelot state that anyone who involves themselves in magic does so on pain of death." He replied tersely and I stopped, watching them disappear into the crowd.


	2. Chapter 2

"Did you hear?" Treila cried as she burst into my chambers. "A man has been sentenced to death for looking after a sorcerer."

"I know. I heard." I said, shaking my head. By now it was late in the evening and Uther had already found the poor man guilty of consorting with the sorcerer. "I doubt he even had a fair trial. We know Uther doesn't see sense as soon as the word "magic" is mentioned."

"This would never happen back home." She said and flopped down on my bed.

"And Arthur seems more focused on pleasing his father than fighting for an innocent man's life." I fumed.

"Can we do anything?" Treila asked.

"Unless you can convince Uther to let the man go free, I don't know what we can do." I replied.

"What about Arthur?" she asked.

"He's not going to listen to me." I said, shaking my head.

"You should at least try, shouldn't you? You never know. You could be wrong about him." She said wisely.

I sighed. I highly doubted it. "Okay. I'll try, but I'm not expecting anything to change." I said as I walked out of the room to find Arthur.

I didn't have to look for too long before I found him striding down one of the corridors towards me.

"Arthur." I said and I saw him sigh, rolling his eyes.

"Princess…" he began.

"Arthur, this is wrong and you know it is." I said. "You're sentencing an innocent man to death."

"I cannot disobey my father." He said.

"So you would rather please your Father than save an innocent person." I said, unimpressed. "The man was giving refuge to a traveler, he didn't know he had magic. He was acting out of kindness not evil."

"Even if I wanted to do something, it's too late." Arthur said, crossing his arms.

"It's never too late to do the right thing." I pushed. "You have a chance."

"I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do." He said and walked past me, disappearing around the corner.

I stormed back to my chambers and slammed the door angrily behind me. "I take it it didn't go so well." Treila said, looking up.

"No." I managed. "Arthur is such a…a…" I fumed, but couldn't think of the right word to describe him.

"Well you're going to have to deal with him in a few minutes because he have dinner in the hall." Treila said with a chuckle.

"Great." I said. "How long do we have?"

"Ah, five minutes." She replied. Without another word, I hurried over to my case and pulled out a midnight blue dress and quickly disappeared behind the screen to change.

Soon, I was sitting at a long table in the thrown room with Uther at the head, beside him was my Father and Arthur opposite him. Beside me sat Treila and I was across the table from Arthur. I'd kept quiet for the duration of the meal, but Uther and my Father had been talking away happily.

"Are you well, my daughter?" My father asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Yes, father. I'm just tired after the day's travels." I replied.

"You all must have had a long day. I will not keep you any longer." Uther said warmly as he began to get up.

"Actually Father, there is something I wish to discuss with you." Arthur said suddenly.

"Go on." Uther said, sitting back down.

"It's about the man sentenced to death." He began and I snapped my eyes up to Arthur. "I believe he should be set free."

"Arthur, he consorted with a sorcerer." Uther said sternly.

"The man claims that he didn't know his guest was a sorcerer _and_ the people of Camelot respect and share your opinion on the uses of magic." Arthur said. "Besides, what would he have to gain from being involved with sorcery? Now is our chance to show compassion and understanding, and executing an innocent man will not put you in favor of the people." Arthur reasoned. "We must do the right thing, for the sake of the kingdom."

"You really believe this man is innocent?" Uther asked him.

"Yes, sire." Arthur replied.

"One day you will be King and your judgment will be the only thing that stands between life and death." Uther began. "You have proven your judgment to be true and just in the past, so I trust you to make the right decision. The man will be set free." Uther declared. "But, I warn you, Arthur, if he is ever linked with sorcery again, then it will be on your head." Uther finished.

"I understand, Father." Arthur replied as we all got up to leave the room. I bid goodnight to Uther, my Father and Treila as I waited outside for Arthur. He soon emerged from the room and we were alone in the entranceway.

"Happy now?" Arthur asked, with a smirk.

"Thank you, Arthur." I replied, graciously.

"No, you made me see the error of my ways. I should be thanking you for not letting me have an innocent man killed." He replied and I shook my head.

"Well I am sorry for being rude as well." I said. "You are a good man. You've shown forgiveness and empathy, which can also be a show of strength." I continued as I walked over to the foot of the spiral stairs. "It seems I was wrong about you, Arthur Pendragon."

"Sleep well, Princess." He said with a smile as I began to ascend to stairs.

"Please, call me Circa." I smiled. "And sleep well also, Arthur."


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning I was up bright and early, ready for a full day. When I'd first gotten up I opened the window and was pleasantly surprised with the sun and how warm it felt against my face.

I decided to continue with the warm sunny theme by changing into a pale yellow gown with a light gold overskirt and sleeveless corset. I had just finished plating my hair when there was a knock on the door.

I opened it and found one of Camelot's guards standing in the doorway. "Your highness, Prince Arthur has requested that you ride with him this morning."

'How lovely.' I thought to myself. 'A ride before breakfast would make the morning perfect.'

"Well, you may tell the Prince that I accept his offer. Thank you." I said to the guard who nodded before leaving my door. I rummaged through my case until I found my riding gloves, and when I had, I hurried out the door and skipped down, into the courtyard where Arthur was waiting with a skinny boy with dark hair and a cheeky face.

"Good morning." I said as I joined them.

"Circa, I trust you slept well." Arthur said.

"I certainly did." I replied and then smiled at the boy.

"Uh, this is my servant, Merlin." Arthur said.

"My lady." Merlin greeted.

"It's nice to meet you Merlin." I smiled. "I trust Arthur's been good to you."

"Most of the time. Otherwise, he's a total turnip head." He said which earned a warning look from Arthur as I laughed.

"Ignore Merlin, he doesn't know what he's talking about half the time, and the other half he spends in the tavern." Arthur replied, hitting Merlin on the shoulder, just hard enough to make him stumble forward. Arthur lead me away from Merlin and over to my horse.

Soon, the three of us where riding out of the courtyard and into the forest surrounding the castle and lower town.

"There's a river at the center of the forest. It's very nice at this time of year." Arthur said.

"It sounds lovely." I said as an idea popped into my head. "I'll race you."

"Race me?" he asked skeptically.

"What? Worried you'll lose?" I challenged.

"No. Of course not." He replied.

"Good…Go!" I cried and set my horse off at a gallop through the trees. I stood up in the saddle as I felt the wind brushing it's long fingers through my hair. I looked behind me and saw Arthur ten meters behind me.

"Come on, Pendragon!" I taunted, but he never reached me and by the time he arrived at the river I was dismounting.

"Good race." I said, stroking my horses muzzle.

"You're a skilled rider." Arthur replied, jumping from his horse and coming over to join me as Merlin tied his horse up.

"My mother was the best rider in Ivistor." I said.

"Was? Does she not ride anymore?" he asked.

"Oh, no." I smiled and looked back at my horse. "She died when I was ten."

"I'm sorry…My mother died also. I never knew her." He said sadly, walking down to the edge of the river. "I just wish I had the chance to know her." 

"I'm sure that, wherever she is, she's proud of you." I said, joining him on the bank. "Does your Father speak of her often?"

"He never talks about her, and when he does it's only to tell people not to talk about her." He sighed.

"Well, knowing Uther and now you, I can see parts of her in you." I said.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"You have Uther's determination, courage, skills. But you also have heart, compassion and nobility, which I guess came from your mother." I explained and watched as he thought about what I'd said. He looked so serious that I thought I needed to lighten the mood. "Although, I don't know whose side your terrible riding came from." I said and his face broke into a grin.

"And what would happen if I said I let you win?" Arthur asked, turning to face me with a raised eyebrow. I was about to respond when a snort came from Merlin.

"What was that Merlin?" Arthur asked him.

"It was the horse." He replied, pointing at the horse beside him as I laughed.

"Come on. We should be heading back." Arthur said and we mounted up before riding back to Camelot.

When we arrived back in the courtyard of the castle, I'd barely climbed down from my horse when Treila flew down the steps and cried out to me.

"Circa! Oh, Circa! Something terrible has happened!" She cried grasping my hands.

"Treila, calm down. What happened?" I asked.

"Ivistor has been attacked. They killed so many innocent people." She cried.

"How many?" I asked, fearing the answer.

"Thousands." She sobbed.

"Do we know who?"

"Cenred and his army. Along with two witches, Morgana and Morgause." She said and I glanced at Arthur.

"We must speak with Father." I said to her and we hurried up the stairs. I was about to go inside when I realised I'd forgotten to thank Arthur. I turned around and saw him holding onto the horses. "Arthur, thank you for this morning. It was lovely." I smiled before I hurried inside with Treila, and together we marched towards the throne room.

"Father." I said as we walked through the door to find him standing with Uther and the four other Kings who were coming to Camelot to sign the peace treaty.

"My lords, forgive me." I said and Treila and I curtseyed.

"You are forgiven." One of the Kings said. "We understand some terrible news has reached you."

"Father, what do we do?" I asked. 

"You will stay here. I will take our knights and return to Ivistor to restore peace." Father replied.

"But what about the peace treaty?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, we will have to work out some other arrangement." He said.

"What if Treila and I go?" I suggested. "You said it yourself, these peace talks must go ahead if the kingdoms are to thrive. We will return to Ivistor and fight for our people."

"I cannot ask this of you. It is too dangerous." Our Father replied.

"You cannot protect us forever, Father. We know how to fight, and our knights are more than capable of pushing an army from the kingdom." I said.

"We can do this, Father." Treila said. "You must stay for the future of the five Kingdoms."

With both his daughters, glaring determinedly at him, our Father had little chance of deterring us and he knew it. "Alright. But promise me you'll be safe." He sighed.

"Of course, Father." I said. "We'll leave in an hour."


	4. Chapter 4

"Ready?" I asked Treila as I stood at the door to her chambers. I'd changed into a maroon shirt, tucked into a pair of black, leather pants with a brown jacket over the top and a pair of tall boots on my feet. I held my dark blue, velvet cape in my hand and had my other resting on the hilt of my sword.

"Yes." Treila replied confidently and as we strode down the corridor we pulled on our capes.

"Good luck." Our Father said as we met him at the door to the throne room.

"It's our opponents that'll need luck." Treila said.

"Of course. Especially with your history of chaotic magic." He chuckled.

"We'll be back before you know it." I assured him as he pulled us both into a hug.

"I love you both so much." He said.

"We know, Father. And we love you too." Treila said.

"Come. We should go." I said and with one last look at our Father, we made our way to the courtyard.

"I hope we can do this." Treila said. " _We_ , as in _us_ leading Ivistor's army alone." She finished as we reached the steps down into the courtyard.

"Who said anything about going alone?" I heard the voice of Gwaine ask and I looked down into the courtyard, stunned. There were the knights of Camelot with Arthur, Gwen and Merlin sitting on their horses in full battle dress, their red capes flowing in the breeze.

"I can't ask you to do this." I said to them.

"Good. Then don't ask, 'cause we're coming anyway." Arthur said.

So, Treila and I mounted our horses, and as we set off I looked at Arthur and gave him a grateful smile.

Soon we were riding through the forest surrounding Camelot and were due to

make camp on the border separating Camelot from Ivistor.

Once we arrived I stood up in my saddle and I gasped at the devastation that met my eyes. Even the smallest of towns had fires burning in them and groups of houses lay broken on the ground.

"Cenred will pay for this." I growled, before turning my horse away to the clearing where we'd set up camp that night.

"Merlin. I'm famished." Leon said as I tied the reins of my horse to a sturdy tree. I watched as Merlin sighed and filled his bowl.

"I'm hungry as a horse." Gwaine added just as Merlin was about to walk away.

"Have you fed the horses, Merlin?" Arthur asked as his servant served Gwaine more dinner.

"Well…" Merlin began.

"Come on. They must be starving." Arthur interrupted.

"But…" Merlin tried again, trying to keep up with all the knights and now Arthur's demands.

"On your toes." Arthur again ignored him and I rolled my eyes.

"Don't worry, Merlin. I'll do it…Just save me a bit would you?" I said, nodding to the pot.

I did the rounds, feeding and watering the horses. "Good boy." I said to my horse, stroking his glossy head.

"You know I have a perfectly capable servant who can do that?" Said Arthur behind me.

"Yes, but sometimes even servants need a break." I said, turning to face him. "Doesn't Merlin mind? You teasing him like that."

"Merlin? He's fine." He shrugged and I shook my head.

"I want to say thank you, Arthur." I said, leaning back against my horse's warm sturdy side. "I know, that _you_ know it's dangerous and there's every chance of not returning, and it's not even for Camelot. So, I wanted to thank you… but you should go back." I decided.

I wasn't happy about it. We were going to need all the help we could get and I was thankful for the extra company. I really wanted them to stay but I couldn't let them.

"And why would I do that?" He asked.

"Because you're the future King of Camelot." I said. "If you die there's no one left to take the throne." 

"You're also the future Queen." Arthur pointed out.

"But I've got Treila." I reminded him. "Which is why I want her to go back with you."

"You do realise that I'm the Prince of Camelot. You can't tell me what to do while we're still in our kingdom." He said.

"Then we'll have this conversation ten meters that way." I said pointing to the right where the border of Ivistor was.

Arthur smirked at my remark before saying, "It was our choice to come and the consequences will be because we made that choice. Besides, I'm not riding all the way back to Camelot, having to listen to Gwaine the whole way." He said and I chuckled. "So, long story short, we're coming whether you like it or not."

"So there's no way of persuading you to return to Camelot?" I asked, already knowing the answer and if I was honest I was glad of it.

"No way in the world." He replied.

"I was hoping you'd say that." I admitted.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning we rode into Ivistor, through devastated villages and burning forests. Once we reached the palace, we left the horses and traveled the rest of the way on foot.

"The palace is overrun by Cenred's men." Treila said as she and Percival joined the rest of us after scouting ahead. "I'd say our best way in is through the dungeons. That way we can free any knights they might have locked up there."

"Alright. Elyan, Lancelot Gwen and Leon, I need you to make your way up, floor by floor, cleanse the palace of Cenred's army. Gwaine, Percival, you free anyone that will be of use to us and then head up to help the others.

Treila, Arthur, Merlin and I will head for the throne room and flush out Cenred, Morgana and Morgause." I finished. "Are you up for it?"

"I don't like our chances. But I wouldn't miss it for the world." Gwaine said.

"That means Yes." Elyan said.

"Thank you, all. Happy hunting." I said finally, before I lead the way around the back of the palace. There was only one guard standing at the entrance to the dungeons, so I boldly lead the group forward and as the guard raised his sword, I pulled out a dagger from my belt and threw it at him, hitting him squarely in the chest.

"Blimey." Leon muttered.

Having dealt with him, I lead the others through the sandy passage way and soon we reached a set of stairs leading up into the palace. This time, there were two guards at the bottom of the stairs. Treila and I crept round behind them, clasping a hand around their mouths and wrapping an arm around heir necks, restricting their air until they passed out. I pulled the cell keys from one of the men's belt and threw them to Percival.

He and Gwaine ran off down the passage way as the rest of us made our way silently up the stairs. Once we reached the first floor, the second group broke off and then it was just Arthur, Treila, Merlin and I heading up to the second floor to the throne room.

When we reached the landing Treila stuck her head round the corner before nodding to us, and we followed her down one of the long passages.

"Hey! Stop right there!" I heard a shout from behind us and we spun around to see six guards running towards us. I pulled out my sword and stood ready with Treila and Arthur beside me.

As the men approached there was the sound of footsteps behind us and I glanced over my shoulder to see another group of guards coming from the opposite direction. Merlin and I turned around to face the new group, and then all hell broke lose.

I stepped forward and swung my sword at the first guard and our swords clashed together. I spun around, ducking underneath him and slashed my sword against him. As the man collapsed, I leapt over him, kicking another guard in the leg and as he faltered I brought my knee up to his forehead.

I looked around and saw a guard running at Arthur who was faced the other way. I threw my sword at the guard just as Arthur turned around to see the man stumble and fall at his feet.

"You're welcome." I said to him as I pulled my sword out of the guard's back.

"We must keep moving." Treila said, rolling the lifeless body of a guard over with her foot.

We ran down the passage way to the tall mahogany doors inlayed with gold, which served as the entrance to the throne room.

"There are two side doors accessible by the staircases on either side of the palace." I whispered. "Treila and I will go through the main entrance. Cenred doesn't know we're here, so make sure they can't get out." I said to Arthur and Merlin, and they nodded before hurrying over to the staircases on either side of the hall.

Once they were gone Treila and I pushed open the double doors and marched into the throne room to see Cenred sitting on the King's throne with two women on either side. One had blonde hair and wore a red and silver gown, and the other had dark brown, almost to the point of black, hair and wore a tattered black and green dress.

"Ah. Princesses. We were wondering when you would grace us with your presence." Cenred hissed. "Although, we were expecting your Father."

"Yes, well he had better things to do than waste his time on a weak, power hungry King." I replied to which Cenred just laughed.

"I assume you didn't come here alone." Cenred thought aloud. "I wonder who else we can find." He said and nodded to who I assumed where Morgana and Morgause. The pair made their way to the side doors but stopped when Merlin and Arthur came out and blocked their way.

"Arthur. How lovely to see you again." The dark haired woman said to him.

"Enough, Morgana." He growled.

"You killed thousands of innocent people. The least we can do is help you join them." I said as I raised my sword.

"If it's a fight you want. Then it's a fight you'll get." Cenred said, lazily getting out of the throne and pulling out a black, curved sword. Arthur and Merlin joined us as the trio stood together around the throne.

"Why are you even here, Cenred?" I asked, advancing towards him, my sword pointed at his chest. "What is here that you desire so much?"

"Well, let me see. Ivistor has undoubtedly the best army in the five kingdoms, unrivaled with even Camelot." Cenred said, sending the last part towards Arthur. "Other than that there was the small faxt that we wanted you dead."

"And why is that?" I asked as we began circling each other. "What wrong have I done you?"

"It's not what you have done." Morgana spoke up, her voice dripping with hatred. "It's what you're destined to do. I have seen the future and you take something that is rightfully mine."

"Oh, Cenred. You're doing her dirty work for her. How sweet." I taunted and his jaw clenched. I knew Cenred's reputation for having a short temper, and I'd learnt that an angry fighter is a careless fighter. "I'd never have taken you for someone's door mat."

"Enough!" Cenred yelled and lunged forwards swinging his sword at my head. I ducked and jabbed the hilt of my sword into his side. Cenred was quicker than I thought and as I stood up, he kicked my sword from my hand and swung his at my legs. I jumped out of the way and backed to a safe distance, just out of reach of his sword. Behind Cenred, I saw Treila sneaking behind him with my sword in her hand. She gave me a quick nod and I stepped forward.

Cenred swung his sword and held it's tip at my throat. "Not as good a fighter as you are a talker it seems." He said and I shrugged, tilting my head towards Treila and looking at her. Cenred looked too, just in time to see her throw my sword to me.

His mistake was focusing on it and he paid for it when his legs were kicked out from underneath him by Arthur. Cenred groaned and went to get up but stopped when he saw three swords points at his chest.

"It's over Cenred." I said as the sound of hundreds of footsteps running towards the room met my ears. I looked up as Percival, Lancelot and Leon marched through the double door followed by about sixty of our knights. Twenty more then came through both side doors, surrounding us and blocking all possible exits. "Get up." I ordered Cenred and he glared at me as he stood up and joined Morgana and Morgause.

"Take them to the dungeons." I said to some of the knights and was about to turn away when Morgause spoke.

"Did you really think it would be that easy?" she asked. "This is only the beginning… Briden manweyld gifeluey." She chanted and as her eyes flashed yellow, what looked like a tornado engulfed the trio and when it subsided they were gone.


	6. Chapter 6

"Where are the others?" I asked Leon as I sheathed my sword. The palace had been cleansed of all Cenred's men and we were setting up a hospital room in our great hall, but we hadn't seen Elyan, Gwen or Gwaine since the battle.

"I don't…" Leon started but was interrupted by a shout.

"Here! Help me." I heard Gwen's voice and I looked to the doorway to see her dragging Elyan into the room. Behind her came Arthur, helping a half-conscious Gwaine.

Leon hurried forwards and helped Gwen care for Elyan as I lead Arthur over to the far corner of the hall where there was a spare bed. We hadn't suffered too many casualties, but it was enough to weaken our forces.

Gwaine had a deep gash on his side and he groaned as I peeled away his sticky, blood stained shirt.

"Is he okay?" Treila asked as she joined me.

"He'll be fine." I answered after I examined the wound. "Can you pass me the bowl?" I asked and she handed me a bowl of fresh water mixed with antiseptic and a cloth.

"I'm not going to sugar coat it. This is going to hurt." I said to the half conscious Gwaine and I pressed the clothe onto his side.

"Ah, I've had worse." He said, although wincing slightly.

"Are you always this cocky?" I asked him.

"Only on Tuesdays." He grinned. "Or when beautiful women are involved." He said and looked at Treila who blushed.

I rolled my eyes and handed the clothe to Treila. "I'll leave you to it." I said teasingly and left them alone.

Connected to the great hall was a long, balcony, open to the elements and overlooking the lower towns with the sparkling ocean on the horizon. I walked out onto it for some fresh air and leant against the marble balustrade.

I thought about what Morgana had said. What I was destined to do. Whatever I was supposedly going to do had driven her to want to kill me. And whatever this was, it can't be anything good.

"This won't be the last time we see Morgana and Cenred." I heard Arthur say and he joined me on the balcony.

"I know." I replied, still thinking about what she'd said. "How's Elyan?"

"He's come round and he's improving." He answered. "Gwaine?"

"Perfectly fine. Just a flesh wound." I said, looking over my shoulder to see him sitting up and talking to Treila. I watched the sun dip lower in the sky, so it was hovering just above the sea and as the wind blew I caught the smell of the ocean.

"It's only been three days but I always forget how beautiful it is here. I would have liked you to see Ivistor under different circumstances." I said. "But at least we now have the palace, so you can all have a guest room to yourselves."

"Thank you. It's very generous of you." Arthur smiled.

"It's the least we can do." I smiled back.

"So, what's the plan?" he asked.

"We'll stay a week. Just long enough to restore order and make sure the people are safe and well cared for. I'll send our knights out to all the towns with food, medical supplies and money." I said. "We shouldn't be afraid to be generous because without the people there would be no kingdom."

It had been three days since we'd rid Ivistor of Cenred's army and it had been quiet since then. I'd been kept busy looking after the villages and going through all our resources to see what we no longer had. It was quiet, but I felt uneasy. Morgana and her companions wouldn't give up as easily as they did, and it felt like the air was holding it's breathe, as if something more was to come. I still had guards outside my door that night, but as soon as my head hit the pillow I was fast asleep.

It was still pitch black outside when I was awoken by a loud bang. My eyes shot open and I slowly lifted my head to scan the room. I let out the breathe I'd been holding in and flopped my head back onto the pillow. It was nothing. I sighed as I turned over onto my side and came face to face with Morgana leaning over me.

"Ah!" I cried in shock and scrambled off the other side of the bed, grabbing the sword beside the headboard. "Morgana." I said as I raised my sword.

"Oh there's no need for that." She said and as he eyes flashed yellow the sword flew out of my hand, landing on the other side of the room.

"Guards!" I yelled.

"They're not there. No one will come." She smiled. 

"What do you want?" I asked, stepping backwards as she started walking towards me.

"What do _I_ want? There's only one thing I desire." She said. "The throne of Camelot." She hissed and slashed her hand through the air. I jumped as pain shot through my left cheek and I raised my hand to it to see blood on my fingertips.

"And what has that got to do with me?" I asked, but I didn't pay attention to her answer because I backed up against a metal candelabra. I wrapped my hand around it and when Morgana was close enough I picked it up and swung it at her.

She leapt back but the tips of it hit her in the side and she cried out in pain. I smashed the candelabra at the stone wall and the end broke off so I was left holding a metal rod.

I surged forward and swung it at Morgana, but she raised her hand and just before the rod touched her, I froze. I struggled against her magic but she jerked her head up and I flew through the air and slammed against the corner of the marble wall. I clambered up and tried to ignore the sharp pain in my side as Morgana and I circled each other.

I was running out of strength but it wouldn't matter if I couldn't even lay a finger on the witch. I just happened to glance behind her and saw an open window. So, I summoned my remaining strength and ran at Morgana. I threw the rod at her and dropped to the ground, sliding across the marble floor. She caught the rod with ease but didn't anticipate my next move. As I slid towards her, I kicked out and my foot connected with her stomach and she tumbled backwards, out the window. I crawled over to the window and looked down expecting to see her body on the ground far below, but there was no sign of her.

The pain in my side suddenly became very noticeable and I sat back against the bottom of the window as a loud whining noise started in my ears. I shook my head to try and get rid of it but instead of helping, my eyesight went blurry and the last thing I saw was the door to my chambers burst open as I blacked out completely.


	7. Chapter 7

"What happened?" I mumbled, the ceiling of my chambers coming into view as my vision cleared. I looked beside me and saw my anxious looking sister staring down at me.

"I was hoping you could answer that." She replied.

"Morgana was here." I said, suddenly remembering and I sat up quickly but winced at the aching pain in my side. I looked down and saw that I was wearing a shirt, rolled up to my chest where a cloth was pressed to the top of my ribs.

"That would explain the broken ribs." Treila pointed out as I slowly lay back down.

"She went out the window, but…" my voice faded.

"What did she want?" she asked.

"Well other than the fact that she was trying to kill me. I don't know." I thought, as there was a knock on the door.

"Enter." Treila called and as Arthur walked in, I quickly eased down my shirt.

"We searched the castle. There's no sign of Morgana or anyone else." He said. "Circa!" He grinned, noticing that I was awake.

"Just catching up on some beauty sleep." I joked as I managed to sit up and rest my back against the headboard. "I'll be fine." I said to Treila and she nodded as she got up and left the room.

"It's good to see you've still got your sense of humour." Arthur grinned, and I tried a laugh, which ended in a wince, forcing me to press a hand to my side.

"Even like this I still reckon I could beat you in a horse race." I smirked and he shook his head but then looked concernedly at me. "What is it?"

"I'm sorry you've been dragged into this war with Morgana." He said.

"It's not your fault." I said earnestly putting my hand on his so he'd believe me.

"This would have happened regardless. Besides, now she's got one up on me and I can't have that, now can I." 

"Will you be alright to ride back to Camelot tomorrow?" Arthur asked.

"Goodness, you sound like my Father. Yes, Arthur, I'll be fine." I laughed and watched him as he gave into a grin. It took me a while to realise that I was still looking into Arthur's blue eyes and my hand was still on his, not that he seemed to mind.

I took a breath, about to say something when the door burst open and Treila came barreling in with Gwen close behind. I quickly tore my eyes away from Arthur's and pulled my hand away.

"Everyone'll be ready to move out tomorrow morning." She announced.

"Thank you, Treila...Is anyone else hungry?" I asked, suddenly realising that I was famished.

"Well it's nearly midday." Treila pointed out.

"Is it really?!" I gasped. "I've already wasted half the day and there's so much to do." I said and leapt out of the bed, forgetting my broken rubs and I doubled over, clutching at my side.

"Slow down. Don't forget you're still hurt." Treila warned.

"It's fine. I must dress and see to everything." I replied and once Arthur and Treila had left, Gwen helped me change into a lilac dress.

I spent the afternoon hobbling around the palace, making sure everyone was set up for when we were gone. And by the time night fell, the stocks had been refilled, all the weapons had been cleaned and mended and the palace's defenses were readied. Just in case.

Of course, my dear sister had decided that a traditional Ivistorian dinner was in order tonight, to celebrate the victory before we headed back to Camelot. So, that evening I changed out of my dirty dress and put on a deep red and purple gown with golf embellishments. In Ivistorian culture, it was traditional for the women to adorn their hair with small plaits and trinkets, along with dark, elaborate eye make-up. So, after incorporating a few, small braids into my hair, I tied in intricate gold chains, before painting black makeup around my eyes, with detailed curls spreading out from the corners.

"Treila! If you don't hurry up, I'm leaving you here and going down without you." I sighed from the doorway of her room.

"I'm coming. I'm coming." She huffed.

"You said that ten minutes ago. I'm going. I'll see you down there." I replied and started walking down the hallway.

"Wait, wait, wait." I heard her calling as I reached the top of the steps and heard running footsteps behind me.

"Hmm. I've never seen you move so quickly." I teased as we walked into the grand hall, which had been adorned with vines and shimmering, gold fireflies. Ivistor had always been known as the land of beauty, but it never stopped taking my breath away.

Treila and I took our places at the head table as Camelot's knights and Prince Arthur made their way into the hall. I stood between Treila and Arthur, with Merlin standing behind him.

"Circa. You look…" Arthur started and I looked at him, waiting for him to finish.

"I think he's trying to say you look beautiful." Merlin said helpfully, which earned him a glare from Arthur.

"Well, thank you." I smiled as Arthur looked painfully out, across the hall.

As everyone took their seats, I remained standing and addressed the room. "In these times of hardship, while it's important to remember to keep fighting our enemies, the relationships with our allies cannot be forgotten as without them, there is no hope. So, to strength and new friends." I said, and raised my glass with the rest of the hall.

For the rest of the night, the great hall was filled with loud, jolly chatter and laughter. I chatted away with Arthur about this and that, and Treila and Gwaine were in deep conversation about something, but seemed to be moving closer to each other every few minutes.

It took our party a while to get moving in the morning because everyone was tired, or drunk in Gwaine's case. But, nether the less we finally left the kingdom of Ivistor and returned to Camelot

"My children." Our Father greeted as we dismounted and met him at the steps to the castle. "Are you both well?"

"Yes, Father." I replied. "How have the talks gone?"

"Peace has been achieved." He replied, sounding tired, but relieved. "But we now have the melee to look forward to tomorrow."


	8. Chapter 8

The crowd groaned and cheered as a competitor dodged out of the way of another's mace. Being a melee, it meant that anyone could give it a shot. So, I'd decided to give it a try.

I fixed my helmet as I was waiting at the edge of the arena. I'd signed up to fight against Arthur, and thought it would be fun if I didn't reveal my identity until after the match.

The crowd cheered as the contestant with the mace, knocked his opponent to the ground.

"Would competitors sixteen and seventy-eight, please enter the arena." One of Camelot's attendants shouted and the crowd cheered as Arthur marched onto the woodchip and waved at his supporters. I entered from the other side as number seventy-eight.

I took a fighting stance; crouched low, with my sword resting on the top of the shield. Arthur did the same, and after a few side steps, lunged forward and swung his sword down. I dodged, and as his momentum forward continued, I hit the base of his helmet with the hilt of my sword, knocking him almost completely over. The crowd cheered as Arthur recovered quickly.

This time, it was my turn to lunge forward, and as our swords connected, we were locked in a battle of strength, to see who would fall back first. Arthur eventually won out, thrusting me backwards and swinging his sword at my head. I dropped and rolled out of the way, but as I leapt up, I elbowed the bottom of Arthur's helmet, knocking it off and sending it rolling across the arena.

The crowd murmured, wondering if the Prince was going to continue fighting or not, and he looked around, thinking about his options.

I decided for him, sticking the point of my sword into the ground, and reaching up to remove my helmet. As I threw it aside half the crowd cheered and the other half murmured.

"Huh." Arthur chuckled, half impressed, half surprised.

"Care to make it interesting?" I asked, also throwing aside my shield, and after considering it he did the same.

I spun my sword and aimed it at Arthur. Our swords connected again, but this time I was ready for his strength and as he went to push me back, I stepped aside. So, as he barreled forwards I swung my sword at his shins, and tripped him up, flipping him onto his back.

As I held the tip of my sword at his chest, I felt triumph rising inside me. Arthur glanced up at the stands. I took a chance and glanced too. Uther sat in his throne looking disappointedly at Arthur.

I thought for a second, before deciding what to do. I stepped closer to Arthur as if in triumph, but really so that I was in arms reach of him. The first rule of combat is to never be too close to your opponent.

Arthur soon caught on and grabbed my sword arm, twisting me onto the ground and my sword flew out of my arm. He leapt up, retrieved his sword and pointed it at my chest as the crowd cheered.

In the stands, Uther stood and clapped proudly. Arthur retracted his sword and extended a hand to me, pulling me to my feet before he waved to his crowd.

After a quick bow, I left the arena and changed back into a gown, made up of all different shades of yellow, and tied my hair into a long braid before heading back up to the stands to join Treila.

As the day went on, more and more people were knocked out of the competition and the remaining competitors were just getting better. The winner of the tournament would be honored at the masquerade, following the finals.

It eventually came down to a bear of a man, and of course, Arthur. The final was made up of three rounds; using a mace, axe and then sword.

The big man was slow and Arthur easily defeated him with the mace. Arthur was in the lead.

It was a close battle between the two, but Arthur seemed to have the edge with the axe. That was until the huge man was lucky and got a hit in. He swung his axe, in front of him, and struck Arthur point blank in the chest, sending him flying backwards. He lay on the ground, barely moving and the crowd murmured as it was declared the 'bear man' had won.

Arthur managed to push himself up, onto his feet and staggered out of the arena. I saw him stumbling over to his tent and got up to follow him. When I pulled aside the tent flap I saw Arthur sitting on a chest, with his shirt off as Gaius, the court physician examined a nasty, bloodied bruise.

"I've got some stronger dressing up in my chambers." Gaius said, standing up and hobbling past me and out of the tent.

"It looks worse." Arthur said, seeing me eyeing the wound and tried to reach down for a cloth in a bowl of clean water.

"Here, let me." I said, kneeling down in front of him, so that I was at eye level and began to clean the blood from the wound. "Sorry." I murmured as Arthur flinched slightly.

"It's alright." He replied, and as I raised the clothe again, he took my wrist and pressed my hand against his chest.

I slowly looked up at him and saw a small smile on his lips.

"Here you go, sire." I heard the voice of Gaius say as he entered the tent. 'For an elderly man, he sure moves quickly.' I thought to myself as I quickly slid my hand out from Arthur's and picked up my gown as I stood back to let Gaius work.

"There you go, sire. Now, be sure to come and see me after your final fight so I may redress the wound." Gaius insisted upon Arthur, but he wasn't looking at his physician. "Sire?" Gaius said.

"Uh, of course, Gaius. Thank you." Arthur said, as he stood up and pulled on his armour.

"Good luck, Arthur." I said, handing him his helmet with a smile before leaving his tent and joining Treila and Gwen back in the stands.

"Let battle commence!" Uther declared once the two finalists had re-entered the arena.

The big man roared, and swung his huge sword at Arthur, who dodged out of the way, swinging his own sword as he did so, clipping the man's armour. It was one of the longest, well-fought battles I'd ever seen, with both men taking hits.

Arthur managed to knock the man's helmet off with the hilt of his sword. In good sporting fashion, just as I'd done, Arthur threw off his own helmet.

Both men continued to hack away at each other, but it wasn't long before Arthur skillfully twisted his opponent's sword out of his hand, and pointed his own at the huge man's chest. The two men stood still for a moment, before the man nodded in defeat and Arthur retracted his sword as the stands erupted into applause.

I stood with the rest of the crowd and couldn't help the grin that spread onto my face as Arthur waved round at the crowd and grinned when he saw me.

That night, Treila and I were preparing for the annual Masquerade to signify the end of the melee and to celebrate the successfulness of the peace talks. I changed into an emerald green, iridescent ball gown, which had intricate, green lace sleeves and bodice.

I pulled my hair into a braided crown and let the rest of it fall down my back, with two shorter pieces framing my face. To finish off the ensemble, I had a deep, forest green mask with intricate green designs and silver embellishments. To make my eyes stand out against the mask, I'd put on black eye make up and applied a deep red colour to my lips.

I walked down to the hall with Treila and when the doors were pulled open we saw the hall was adorned with rich reds and gold.

As we made our way through the hall, I couldn't help but admire all the amazing masks everyone was wearing. Everyone looked incredible and the masks hid their identity completely. Well, apart from Uther and Arthur.

"Good evening, my Lord, Merlin." I said as I joined the pair.

"I thought the whole point of a masquerade was to remain anonymous." Merlin said, surprised that I recognised Arthur.

"Well, wearing a crown kind of gives it away." I replied, insinuating Arthur's headgear.

As I spoke, a small string orchestra began to play and party goers made their way onto the dance floor.

"Shall we?" Arthur asked, holding out his hand and I smiled, taking it as he lead me into the middle of the hall.

"Thank you for giving up the fight today for me." Arthur said, as he pulled me close to him and we started to dance.

"That's okay. We all know I would've won anyway." I shrugged.

"Is that so?" Arthur chuckled. "But, my Father expects the best, so thank you. I appreciate what you did."

"That's what you do when you care for someone, I suppose." I replied before I could stop myself.

My words seemed to hang in the air as the rest of the room faded out of focus. I knew this feeling, and what would come next. I smiled as Arthur's lips met mine and I relished in the brief moment before we parted.


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning the courtyard of Camelot's castle was filled to capacity with horses, nobles and knights, as everyone involved in the peace talks prepared to return to their respectful kingdoms.

"Did something happen last night?" Treila asked, sidling up to me as I tightened the strap on my saddle.

"No…Why?" I asked a little too hurriedly.

"Because you and Arthur haven't been able to keep your eyes off each other all morning." She replied, and I glanced up at the palace steps where Arthur was standing beside Uther. As I caught his eye I childish smile spread across my lips and I quickly looked away.

"Ha! I knew it." Treila said victoriously.

"Shut up." I replied as Uther walked down the steps towards my Father with Arthur in tow.

"Arden. I'm glad we could come to a peaceful resolution." Uther said,

firmly grasping my Father's hand. "Thank you for supporting my proposal."

"The pleasure is mine. Hopefully, now our kingdoms will become stronger than

ever." Father replied.

"And I assure you that Cenred will be punished for the devastation he has inflicted on Ivistor." Arthur assured him. "Our men will not rest until he is brought to justice."

"You have raised an honorable boy, Uther." Father complimented his friend, chuckling as he grasped his shoulder.

"And you have raised two strong daughters." Uther replied.

"Yes. Beautiful as the stars but fearsome as the sea. Much like their mother." Our Father smiled warmly at us.

"And our combined strengths will be needed in the fight against Cenred." I added, careful not to mention Morgana as I was unsure as to how her betrayal sat with the King.

"Yes, and we will need all the help we can get." Arthur nodded.

"Why, an idea has just come to me." Father cried, his eyes alight with ideas. "With all these talks of peace and support, what could be more beneficial in our fight against Cenred than our two kingdoms working closely together to beat this tyranny? If it sits well with you, Uther, I would like to leave my daughter, Circa, here to help with the effort." He finished.

"Well, I…don't see why not. Another strong warrior can only strengthen our army." Uther replied with a smile before he went to farewell the other rulers.

"Goodbye, Father." I said, giving him a hug. 'Thanks, Father. I don't mind staying at all!' I thought sarcastically, but didn't say it.

"You are good, child." He replied, holding my face in his hands. "Stay safe."

"You too, Father." I replied, kissing his cheek before turning to Treila.

"Try not to burn the palace down." I said, wrapping my arms around her.

"Without you? Never." She replied. "I love you. Write when you can."

"I love you too. And I promise." I assured her, giving her one more hug before she climbed onto her horse, and I watched as my family and their entourage left the courtyard, with Treila giving me a quick wave before disappearing from view.

I gave Arthur a quick smile. "Seems like I'll be staying a little longer." I said to him. 

"Indeed." Arthur replied, straightening his strangely buckled cape.

"Did you get changed in the dark this morning?" I asked, as he struggled with the clasp.

"My servant declined to turn up to work this morning." He huffed.

"That doesn't sound like Merlin." I replied. "Here." I added as I fixed the buckle. "Has he ever done this before?"

"Thanks…Only a few times, and Gaius said he was always at the tavern." He replied.

"And have you checked the tavern?" I asked.

"No." Arthur said thoughtfully.

"Well, start there and if he's still missing by this afternoon then we'll go look for him." I suggested, as the last King left the courtyard.

Arthur offered me his arm, and I linked mine around his as he led me back into the castle.

"Also, my Father would understand but not allow our relationship. His views on magic change for no-one, even royalty." Athur said hesitantly, and I could hear the disappointment in his voice.

"I understand." I shrugged.

"You do?" he asked, slightly taken aback.

"Yeah. I mean, it's unfortunate, but I'm not going anywhere." I smiled, patting his hand. "Now go and find your Merlin. I'm sure he's missing you just as much as you are him."

"What? No. I'm not missing him…" Arthur began.

"You can't fool me." I goaded, before turning around and walking up the stone stairs.

As the day went on, Merlin was still missing and Arthur was becoming more and more worried.

I was walking down one of the hallways, towards the courtyard, when I turned a corner and walked straight into none other than Merlin.

"Merlin!" I cried. "We've been looking everywhere for you."

"Have you?" he asked, surprised.

"Where have you been?" I inquired and for the first time, noticed he was holding a crossbow. "What's that for?"

"Oh, this old thing? I was out hunting." He said matter of factly.

"You were out hunting." I repeated, just to make sure I'd heard him correctly.

"Yes." He nodded.

"Where?" I asked.

"The edge of The Darkling Woods." He answered. "Now, if you'll excuse me." he finished, and pushed past me, continuing on his way.

I furrowed my brow as I watched the strange boy disappear before continuing down into the courtyard.

"Is something troubling you, My Lady?" I heard a voice ask, and I looked up to see Sir Leon standing by his horse.

"I'm sorry?" I asked, slightly startled.

"You look very deep in thought." He said.

"Oh, I'm just worried about Merlin. He was walking around with a crossbow." I said.

"Ah, yes. I helped him out with that one. Carved from fifty-year-old ash. The best we have." He said impressively.

"Yes. And what did he say he wanted it for?" I interrupted.

"Oh, to kill Arthur." He replied. "Seems he's driving him mad."

"Oh." I nodded uneasily as the sound of horses hooves, clattered into the courtyard. Sir Gwaine jumped off his horse and strode over to Leon.

"We've had a potential sighting of Morgana." He said.

"Where?" I asked.

"The Edge of The Darkling Woods." He replied.

I left the two knights to themselves, and hurried back inside. I needed to speak with Gaius, and I was hoping that what I was thinking wasn't possible. Merlin had been missing in the same area Morgana had reportedly been seen in, and suddenly he was walking around with a crossbow, taking about killing Arthur.

"Gaius." I greeted, as I walked into his chambers.

"My Lady." He replied. "Have you by any chance seen Merlin?"

"That's actually what I wanted to speak with you about." I replied. "Has he been acting strangely?"

"Yes. He was asking earlier what my strongest poison was." He replied.

"I fear he's been put under some kind of spell by Morgana. He's walking around with a crossbow talking about killing Arthur." I said.

"We must find him." Gaius advised, and I followed him to Arthur's chambers.

When we reached the strong, oak doors it was worryingly quiet inside. Gaius pushed open the door just in time for us to see Merlin aiming the crossbow at Arthur's turned back. Arthur, who was half way through pulling on a shirt had no idea about the danger he was in.

Without a second thought, Gaius marched forward, grabbed a water jug and swung it at Merlin's head. There was an almighty clang and Merlin stumbled slightly before dropping to the ground.

At the loud noise, Arthur spun around as Merlin hit the floor.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Uh, Merlin has been…enchanted by Morgana." I said, looking away as Arthur fumbled with his shirt.

There was an awkward silence, which I used to watch Gaius inspect something on the back of Merlin's neck.

"What is that?" I asked seeing a dark coloured, squiggle shape embedded in the back of Merlin's neck.

"That, My Lady is a Femora." Gaius replied.

"What's a Femora?" Arthur asked, joining us.

"A creature of dark magic. When combined with a powerful enchantment, the Femora latches itself onto it's target, forcing the victim to do as the enchanter commands." Gaius replied.

"Can you help him?" Arthur asked sincerely.

"I don't know." Gaius replied, and Arthur glanced a worried look in my direction. "Help me take him to my cambers." He instructed, and soon Arthur was laying the still unconscious Merlin on Gaius' table.

I watched as Gaius thumbed through an old book before grunting in acknowledgment. He then picked up a small blade and inserted it into the back of Merlin's neck. I turned my nose up as there was a squelching sound and even Arthur had to turn away as Gaius pulled the black worm out from Merlin's skin.

As soon as the creature was out in the open it began to hiss and writhe in Gaius' hand, but before it could do any more damage it was thrown across the room and into the burning fire, leaving a puss of green smoke as it was destroyed.

Once the smoke had disappeared Merlin's eyes shot open and he sat up straight, on the table.

"Merlin! How do you feel?" Gaius asked him.

"Ah, sore." He groaned, rubbing the back of his head. "Like I've been hit over the head with a jug."

"How strange." Gaius said and I hid a smile.

"Get some rest." Arthur said, patting Merlin on the back before opening the door for me.

"Is it always this manic in Camelot? "I asked him as he closed the door behind himself.

"Uhm…You'll get used to it." He smiled before offering me his arm, and I linked mine through his before walking with him down the corridor.


	10. Chapter 10

It had been a week since I'd found out I'd be staying in Camelot and I finally felt like I was settling in. Arthur's knights had accepted me as if I was one of their own and Gwen and I had formed a close friendship.

I stood around the long table in the hall as Uther poured over a map of the surrounding land, discussing with Arthur, myself and the council about borders. It was a pretty boring discussion, up until the hall doors burst open and two guards walked in, flanking a nervous looking woman.

"What is this?" Uther asked the guards.

"This woman has seen sorcery in Camelot, Your Highness." One of the guards said.

"It was sorcery. You are certain of this?" Uther asked the woman.

"Yes, sire." She replied softly.

"And what form did this sorcery take?" Uther almost spat.

"The smoke, sire. It moved. It billowed up into the sky and…and took the form of a raging dragon." She whimpered.

"And you swear this before your king?" Uther asked.

"I swear it." Was her reply.

"Perhaps your eyes deceived you. A trick of the light." Arthur suggested, as he leant on the table.

"The smoke was alive, I tell you. I feared for my life." The woman said and I was tempted to roll my eyes a little at how dramatic she made it sound.

"I thank you for bringing this to my attention." Uther said. "Your loyalty will not go unrewarded." He finished and the guards escorted her from the hall.

"It cannot continue." Uther decided.

"I will hunt down those responsible, Father." Arthur said casually. 

"No. Stronger methods are called for." He replied. "Send for the witchfinder." He ordered and the court gasped.

"Sire, is it necessary to resort to such measures?" Gaius asked.

"The witchfinder is a trusted ally, Gaius. His help will be invaluable." Uther replied. "The court is dismissed." He finished and everyone left the hall.

"I've heard of this Witchfinder." I said to Arthur as we walked down the steps of the palace and into the courtyard later that evening. "Have you met him?"

"No. I've only ever…" he started, but trailed off as a rattling carriage clattered into the courtyard with a hooded man sitting at the reigns.

As the carriage pulled to halt in front of us, the hooded man stepped down, followed by a smaller man I hadn't seen. It was only subtle, but Arthur rested his hand on his belt, moving his elbow in front of me, as if shielding me from this strange character. I felt a small flutter in my chest.

The small man had an impish face, but the way he stood showed that he was a skilled fighter. The hooded man, pulled the cloth away from his face to show a head of wispy, white hair, calculating, brown eyes and a slim, curled mouth.

"Aredian." Uther's voice came from behind us as he quickly descended the stairs.

"Do you smell it?" Aredian asked, shaking his hand and at Uther's confused look he continued. "The fowl stench of sorcery. Camelot is full of it." His voice was low and gravelly, like the low rumble of distant thunder.

"Thank you for coming, Aredian." Uther said, now a little uncertain.

"My knights are at your disposal." Arthur added.

"Thank you, but I will not be needing them. My work requires delicacy and subtlety." Aredian replied before turning to his companion. "This is Dervic, my assistant." He said and Uther nodded to the man, who only stared back at him.

"When will you start?" Arthur asked, looking away from the strange man.

"I have already begun." Aredian answered and the two men walked up the steps, and into the castle.

"That was…" Arthur started.

"Creepy? Unnerving? The stuff of nightmares?" I offered as Arthur chuckled.

"Who were those fellows?" Gwaine asked, joining us.

"That, apparently, was the Witch Finder." I replied.

"Creepy." He decided and continued on his way as Arthur turned to face me.

"Well…" he started awkwardly. "I should…"

"…me too." I added quickly before we each went our separate ways. Since Arthur had said Uther wouldn't allow us to be together, it had been an awkward week of unfinished sentences, strange silences, and furtive glances across the dining table or the hall.

I walked through the now familiar corridors towards my chambers. For an uneventful day, I was pretty exhausted. I closed the doors and turned to face my room, but jumped slightly when I saw Aredian looking out my window.

"My Lady, I would like to ask you a few questions." He said, not breaking his gaze.

"Of course." I replied, not moving an inch from the doorway. I wouldn't worry about a Witchfinder, but the fact that he so boldly let himself into my chambers had me rattled.

"It is true that your Kingdom allows sorcery, is it not?" he asked.

"It is. But the use of Dark Magic is prohibited." I replied.

"Naturally." He remarked. "And have you ever dabbled in magic?"

"Yes, a few times." I replied.

"Ever in Camelot?" he asked.

"No. I promised Uther that I would respect his laws, as he does mine." I replied.

"So you don't know how the dragon was conjured from smoke?" he asked.

"I fear that is beyond me." I said calmly.

"Yes. I'm at a loss to explain it myself." He chuckled, and I smiled weakly, not wanting to indulge in his quips. "Unless, of course. It was you who conjured it."

"Oh, I didn't conjure it." I said smoothly.

"Can you prove it?" he asked. 

"No." I answered, my confidence slightly faltering. But it shouldn't. I had done nothing.

"Hm…Well thank you, Princess." He said and strode past me to the door. "That will be all…for now." He smiled before closing the door behind him.

I now knew I had to be wary around Aredian, he was cunning and had the ability to turn anything you said against you. I decided to think no matter on the tonight, and after changing into my nightgown, I climbed into bed and fell soundly asleep.

I didn't sleep as soundly as I thought I would. I was awoken by a sound beside my head and I opened my eyes to see Dervic standing over me. I started quickly but a hand clamped firmly over my mouth. I squirmed underneath him, trying to loosen his grip, but it was no use. I reached out my hand to the bedside table on the other side of the bed and my hand found the candelabra, which I brought down on Dervic's head with a strained cry.

As the man stumbled back, a scrambled out of my bed and ran for the door, but a hand caught my arm with a vice-like grip and swung me back into the room. Dervic didn't say a word, but pulled out a glistening sword and I began to back away.

As Dervic edged closer, I looked around desperately for a potential weapon, but there was nothing in my reach.

"What are you doing in here?" A voice growled from the doorway and a wave of relief washed over me as I saw Gwaine and Merlin, both in their night clothes.

"Are you alright, Circa?" Gwaine asked and I shook my head, mouthing the word 'no'. He glared dangerously as Dervic before stepping in front of me, his sword drawn.

"Leave. Now." Gwaine demanded, but Dervic drew his own sword and lunged at Gwaine. Their swords met and a loud clang erupted from the metal, echoing still as they continued to swipe at each other. Dervic was fast but Gwaine was stronger with his blows, and soon he was pushing his opponent towards the door. Dervic aimed a well-aimed blow to Gwaine's shoulder and he crumpled to the ground, as blood seeped into his shirt.

Dervic raised his sword again, but was blown back, out of the doorway and into the opposite wall of the corridor, by a force I didn't see.

As Dervic slumped against the wall I turned around to see Merlin crouching down, beside an unconscious Gwaine.

"What was that?" I asked him.

"What?" Merlin asked.

"You can't tell me you don't know what happened. He literally flew out the door." I pointed out.

"I didn't see anything." He said. "Help me lift him onto the bed." He added, changing the subject.

"You have magic." I said as we lifted the unconscious knight onto my bed.

"What? No. I don't have magic." He scoffed.

"Merlin." I said, knowingly and when he said nothing, I knew that was his way of answering. "It's okay. I won't tell a soul." I assured him and watched as his face turned from a look of pain to relief. "…When did you start learning?"

"I was born with it." he replied.

"Well, maybe you could give my sister some lessons. I'm not ready to lose my hair a third time." I smiled before looking down at Gwaine.

"Is he going to be okay?" I asked.

"He's loosing a lot of blood." Merlin answered, noticing how much blood was seeping into his Gwaine's shirt.

"I'll get some supplies from Gaius. Lock the door until I get back." He instructed and I did as he asked, locking the door behind him.

I propped a pillow under Gwaine's head and carefully cut away his shirt so Merlin could work on his shoulder, and soon there was a knock on my door and I opened it to let in Merlin, carrying a bag of potions.

"What was Dervic doing in here anyway?" Merlin asked as he worked on Gwaine.

"I don't know." I replied. "But Aredian has some explaining to do tomorrow."

We were both silent as Merlin worked on the wound, and the silence was only broken by Merlin's sigh as he stepped back.

"He'll be fine." He nodded. "Would you like another room for the rest of the night?"

"No, thank you. The sun's almost up and I've got a patrol to organise." I replied.

"Okay. I'll be back later." He said as he reached the door.

"Merlin, thank you." I smiled and he nodded before closing the door.

I changed out of my night dress and into a light, white gown with silver embellishments and pulled my hair into curls so they flowed down my back, before setting to work on my patrol plan to the land where Morgana was last seen.

It wasn't long before the sun was streaming through the window. I walked over to the curtains and pulled them back so I could look down into the courtyard. Uther was striding across the marble, speaking hurriedly to Aredian as they both disappeared inside the castle. Behind me there was a groan and I looked over my shoulder to see Gwaine blinking blearily at me.

He groaned again before speaking. "I always knew I'd wake up in a Princess' bed one day."

"How are you feeling?" I asked, ignoring his smart comment.

"I've been worse." He replied. "Are _you_ alright?"

"I'm fine. But some people have some answering to do." I crossed my arms as there was a knock on the door. Merlin walked in. "I'll leave you to work on Gwaine." I said, passing him in the doorway.

"Where are you going?" Merlin asked.

"To talk to Aredian." I replied sternly, before sweeping out of the room and marching towards the Witchfinder's chambers.

I knocked harshly on the solid door and there was a paused before the door was pulled open.

"My Lady, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit." Aredian said monotonically.

"I can assure you, Aredian. This visit will not be pleasant." I replied.

"My Lady will have to inform me." He said irritatingly.

"What was Dervic doing in my chambers last night?" I demanded.

"Well, I believe he came to tell you that I required your time once again, but you were asleep. And then he was attacked." He replied.

"At four in the morning? I find that very hard to believe." I began. "My door was locked, so how did he get in?" I asked, not believing his answer for a second.

"I think the real issue we need to be discussing is how Dervic was thrown out of the room and into the corridor without a strong man in sight…Unless of course it was magic." He said.

"Aredian, answer me." I ordered.

"You're very keen to change the subject." He said, twisting my words so now I was the one under questioning. "How was it that my assistant flew ten meters with only you and Arthur's servant present?" He asked and when I didn't reply he said what he wanted to hear. "Magic?"

"I saw no magic." I said. "Now answer my…"

"Well, maybe Merlin saw it. Or perhaps it was he who used the magic." Aredian said, and my blood ran cold. No one could no Merlin had magic, he'd be executed. 

"I know for certain it wasn't Merlin." I said. I had to think of something and fast. I had to get myself out of this bad situation, and Merlin out of this worse one.

"And why is that?" Aredian asked.

"Because it was me. I used it to defend myself." I answered. I knew that if I gave up Merlin, he would surely die, but I had many excuses to get out of it. Uther wouldn't care if I was defending my self, and the fact that I was from a kingdom that allowed magic, _if_ I were to be punished, it wouldn't go as far as being burnt at the stake.


	11. Chapter 11

"My findings incontestable…The Lady, Circa is guilty of using magic." Aredian boomed and pointed a boney finger at me. I knew it was coming but what I wasn't prepared for was the look of disbelief on Arthur's face.

"Circa, is this true?" Uther asked, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Merlin staring at me.

"Yes, sire." I replied confidently, and low murmurings filled the hall. "But I was using it defend myself."

"What do you mean?" Uther asked.

"Aredian's assistant, Dervic was in my room last night and attacked me. If it weren't for Sir Gwaine and Merlin I would not be here." I said and the hall was silent.

"Aredian. Do you have anything to say to this?" Uther asked the Witch Finder.

"As I have already told the Princess, sire. My assistant simply came to her chambers to ask her to consult with me, but when he arrived he was viscously attacked by the knight and Circa who used magic." Aredian said.

"At four o'clock in the morning?!" I spat incredulously, and murmurings around the room began again.

"Circa. When you came to my kingdom you promised me that you would not use or speak of magic, respecting our laws." Uther said.

"I am sorry, sire. But I feared for my life. I assure you that that is the only magic I have used here." I said confidently, when in truth, I hadn't used magic in ten years.

"Then you won't mind if we search your chambers." Aredian said sternly.

"I have nothing to hide." I said matching his tone to perfection.

Soon, there were knights tearing apart the room, looking for anything 'magical'.

"Up end that stool." Aredian ordered the knights as I stood in the doorway with Merlin, Arthur and Uther.

"I would prefer it if my belongings stayed in one piece." I said to Aredian as a knight smashed one of my perfume bottles.

"And the bed side table." Aredian ordered, ignoring me.

"Is what you said true?" Arthur asked. "Did Dervic attack you?"

"Yes! I wouldn't lie to you." I said, a little tersely. Once this pointless search was over we could get back to the real issue at hand.

"I know." He replied quietly.

"Here!" Came a cry from the knight searching the table. I watched as he pulled out a long necklace with a black stone embedded in it, a tattered, beaded book and a few vials with dark liquids in them.

"My, my." Aredian shook his head, opening the book. "These aren't just items of magic, but magic of the darkest kind. Isn't there a law against dark magic in Ivistor?" He asked me.

"Those aren't mine." I said defensively.

"How can they not be? They were found in your chambers, were they not?" Aredian asked.

"They don't belong…" I started, each word dripping with anger.

"Enough." Uther called, raising a hand. "Guards. Restrain her."

"What?!" I cried as two guards stepped forward. "I…"

"I said "enough!" Uther bellowed. "You have not only broken your promise to me, but you have also disobeyed the laws of your own Kingdom. Get her out of my sight!" He ordered.

"Arthur." I said, waiting for him to protest, but as I was firmly lead out the door, he said nothing.

I was swiftly marched down to the dungeons, pushed into a cell that had only straw and an old mattress, and had my hands shackled together from a chain connected to the wall.

About a hundred thoughts flew through my mind as I watched the guards disappear down the corridor. What in the world just happened? How had those things gotten into my room? What was going to happen to me? And more importantly, how was I going to get out of this? And not to mention the fact that Arthur had been so quick not to trust me. It wasn't just the look of betrayal on his face but also the look of genuine hurt in his eyes, as if I'd directly betrayed him.

This thought also hurt because I'd done nothing wrong.

I heard the sound of hurried footsteps and Merlin skidded to a halt in front of my cell.

"What happened?" He asked.

"I don't know. Those things weren't mine!" I replied angrily.

"Not that. I meant why you took the blame for me about attacking Dervic." He said.

"Because if Uther found out it had been you, you'd surely be sentenced to death. I have the excuse of being allowed to use magic in Ivistor, and if Uther was to harm me, there'd be a war, and he wouldn't risk it. It was the safest option." I explained.

"Well, I am forever in your debt." He replied. "Thank you."

"What are they saying?" I asked, implying Uther, Aredian and Arthur. "And don't try and lie." I added, seeing him not meet my eyes.

"Aredian wants a confession." He replied.

"Well he bloody well won't get it. I have nothing to confess to." I said stubbornly.

"He's convinced Uther to allow him to use any means necessary to extract the confession." He continued.

"You mean torture." I said, shaking my head.

"Be careful. Don't underestimate him." He warned.

"And did Arthur agree to this?" I asked.

"He said nothing." Merlin replied hesitantly. That hurt.

"Be careful around Aredian. He's manipulative and I don't know what's going on but I promise those items of dark magic are not mine." I said.

"I believe you." He replied. "And now it's my time to help you."

"Thank you, Merlin." I said as a guard appeared, telling him to move on.

For the rest of the day I saw no one. I sat in the same position the whole time, my arms crossed over my chest and my eyes glaring angrily at the wall in front of me. It wasn't until night had fallen that the guards opened the keys to my cell, letting Aredian in.

"Time to confess." He said patronizingly, as two guards came in and unlocked my shackles.

I marched to Aredian's room and forced into the seat at his desk.

"Such artifacts you keep are banned on pain of death, surely you know that." Aredian said.

"I do know that, and they are not mine." I said slowly.

"Well then how did they get there?" He asked.

"I'd like to know the answer to that question too." I said.

"That'll be all…Guards!" Aredian called suddenly and I was lead back to the dungeons not thirty seconds later and thrown into my cell, landing on my knees, which immediately began to bruise.

I was determined not to let Aredian's short and unexpected interrogations beat me, so I decided to try and get some sleep. I lay down on the old mattress and shut my eyes, falling asleep instantly. It wasn't long before I was awoken by a bucket of cold water being thrown in my face.

"How dare you?!" I growled to the guards, as I blinked the water out of my eyes.

"Witch Finder's orders." One of them replied in a gruff voice. 'Of Course it was.' I thought.

"You're an enemy of Camelot and you're a traitor to your own kingdom." Aredian boomed.

"I am not." I replied.

"Are you a sorceress?" He demanded.

"No." I replied.

"Have you ever practiced magic?" He pressed.

"…yes." I answered.

"Excellent." He said, giving me a wicked grin.

I was once again dragged into the cell and as the morning light began to shine through the high bars, I sat against the wall in my ripped and tattered gown, my face dirty and my hair messy.

"My Lady." I heard a voice whisper from the high bars of the glass-less window. I looked up and saw Gwen peering into the cell.

"Gwen." I greeted, thankful to see a friendly face.

"Oh you poor thing." She sighed, seeing my current state.

"Listen, I believe you speak the truth and we just need to find a way to prove it." She said earnestly. "Is there any way you can think those items could have gotten into your chambers?"

"No. The only people that have been in there are you, me, Gwaine, Merlin

and…Dervic." I said, realisation finally dawning on me. "Of course. How did I not see it? When I woke up I must have caught Dervic placing those items in the bed side table."

"And didn't you say your door was locked? How'd he get in then?" Gwen asked.

"…With magic." I replied distantly. "This was Aredian's plan all along. He never exposes real sorcerers, he uses his own, Dervic, to plant evidence and he twists your words, getting you to confess whether you're guilty or not." I finished.

"But why would he risk accusing royalty?" Gwen asked.

"Because Ivistor allows magic. So that immediately makes me associated with sorcery and it wouldn't be too hard to convince people otherwise." I finished.

"Gwen you're a genius."

"Oh, not really. It was mostly Merlin." She replied.

"I owe both of you." I said earnestly as there was the sound of a door slamming and I saw Gwen turn away.

"Someone's coming." She hissed. "Hang in there, My Lady. You won't have to be in there for much longer." She finished, before scurrying away.

Now there was hope. Hope that Aredian would be found guilty of sorcery and treachery. But how were Gwen and Merlin going to prove it. It was out of my hands and I was relying on them to get me out of here.

It wasn't long before, once again, I was brought to Aredian's chambers.

"Some new information has come to light." He said, walking behind my chair. "It seems that two of the servants have been consorting with you. Guinevere and Merlin, I believe…Now of course, this can't go unnoticed and I believe the punishment for consorting with sorcerers is death."

"They haven't done anything wrong. I'm allowed to have friends, aren't I?" I laughed sarcastically.

"Well, I'd be prepared to overlook it and see it as friends trying to help each other…if you confess." He said slyly.

"What?!" I asked incredulously.

"We'll if you're so keen to protect them, why not confess your crimes and save their lives." He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

What could I do? I had to confess; otherwise Merlin and Gwen would die.

So, a council was called and I was made to stand in front of the King and the court, looking like I'd been living in a pigsty for the last three days.

"Confess." Aredian boomed as Uther sat forward in his seat and Arthur seemed to be waiting with baited breathe to hear what I was going to say.

"Sire, those items of magic belong to me." I said and a wave of murmuring swept through the court.

"How could you betray your kingdom like that? How could you betray my trust? When you came to Camelot you agreed to respect our laws." Uther said.

"I am deeply sorry, Sire." I replied, looking at the ground.

"I will discuss with the council what your fate will be." Uther decided and called for two guards to take me back to my cell.


	12. Chapter 12

As I sat miserably in the corner of the cell I was trying to work out what Uther was going to do. Surely he wouldn't execute me, risking a war, but then again he seemed to be easily influenced.

I looked up when I heard the sound of footsteps approaching and saw Arthur appear at the door to my cell. If there was anything I'd truly mastered in my life, it was the ability to look absolutely disgusted with someone. And in that moment I gave him everything I had.

"And here I was beginning to think you'd forgotten me. Are you enjoying playing detective?" I asked scathingly, staring at the wall ahead of me.

"You can't address me like that." He replied, but only halfheartedly.

"We are the same, Arthur. Yet I continue to be treated like a mutt." I replied, meeting his eyes.

"Are those items of magic yours?" He asked.

"Of course not." I scoffed.

"Then why did you say they were?" He asked.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." I replied, looking away.

"Why not?" He asked.

"Because it's clear you've already made up your mind…So why don't you go back to watching the show." I said and determinedly picked up a piece of straw, knotting it together. Arthur stood there for a few more moments before realising that I would say no more. He turned to leave and once he was gone I threw the straw at the wall and let a few tears trickle down my face.

I wasn't a patient person, so sitting for hours in the cell waiting to hear whether I would die or not, was almost unbearable. And when the time finally came, I couldn't stop my hands from shaking anxiously.


	13. Chapter 13

"You were to respect our laws like everyone else." Uther addressed me back in the hall. "And you must pay the same price as everyone else."

'Surely not.' I thought. "So, by the laws of Camelot…I sentence you to death." Uther said.

"Father." Arthur protested beside him.

"If you do this Uther, you will have a war on your hands." I warned him, my eyes flashing with anger and saw the smug look Aredian had on his face.

"It is you who have started this war." He spat back.

"Your highness, if I may." I heard a voice say and I looked around to see Gwaine step forward. "Circa, is not a sorceress. Those items were planted in her chambers."

"By whom?" Uther asked.

"The Witch Finder and his assistant." He replied and the hall erupted in gasps and mutters.

"That is a very serious accusation." Uther said. "Aredian?"

"He's obviously lying to protect the wretch." He scoffed.

"How dare you. I…" I started. I believed in everybody being equals but I was not afraid to let my royal standing protect me

"Silence!" Uther hissed. "Do you have any proof of these accusations, knight?" He asked Gwaine who nodded to Merlin.

"Yes, Sire." Merlin said.

"Aredian?" Uther called to the Witch Finder.

"Search my chambers. I have nothing to hide." He replied.

So, I joined Uther, Arthur and Gwaine in Aredian's chambers with Merlin and Gwen beside me. I still had my wrists shackled together, but I barely noticed the stinging pain. I was more focused on the search.

We watched as knights tore Aredian's chambers apart, but they found nothing.

"In the cabinet." I heard Merlin whisper to Gwaine.

"There, look in the cabinet." Gwaine called out to the knights. One of them wrenched open the door, and a stack of books toppled out onto the floor.

"Books of magic, sire." The knight reported.

"And in that chest." Gwaine added, and a knight pulled open the lid, revealing a neat collection of potions.

"What? Those aren't mine!" Aredian cried incredulously.

"You are a sorcerer?" Uther gasped.

"I am not the sorcerer. It's Dervic." He said, throwing his assistant into the flames.

"Which is how he got into my chambers, that were locked. So, he could plant evidence." I explained.

Uther and Arthur unsheathed their swords and advanced on a panicking Witch Finder. "Aredian, you are under arrest and will be sentenced." Uther threatened, except he never got the opportunity because beside me, I heard Merlin mutter a spell, and a heavy box slid behind Aredian's feet, tripping him up, and he fell backwards, through the window and down to the ground below.


	14. Chapter 14

"Thank you, Gwen." I said to my friend as she helped tidy my chambers.

After the morning's events, I returned to my chambers with Gwen, where I bathed and changed into a red gown, leaving my hair out. The bracelet length sleeves clearly revealed the red marks left by the shackles. I wasn't petty, but as long as the marks remained I was happy for them to remind Uther and Arthur of their mistake.

"I still can't believe how cruel Aredian was." She said, shaking her head.

"Aredian never caught sorcerers, he just planted evidence and tortures his victims until they confess whether they're guilty or not." I replied, as there was a knock on the door.

Gwen went to open it and Uther stepped into my chambers, followed by Arthur.

"Sire." I curtseyed politely, although I felt like being everything _but_ polite.

"Princess. Please, allow me to give you my deepest apologies." Uther said. "Aredian…he had us fooled."

"Not everyone, sire." I replied. "Gwaine, Merlin and Gwen were the only ones with faith in me." I added, half aiming it at Arthur.

"And if you were innocent, why did you confess?" He asked.

"Because he threatened to have Merlin and Gwen executed. And since it didn't take much to convince you that _I_ was an enemy, I knew you wouldn't lose any sleep sentencing two servants to death." I replied politely, but with just enough sharpness to my words to let him know just what I thought of him.

"And you'd risk your life for those of two servants?" He asked perplexed, and I couldn't believe he asked that with Gwen standing in the room.

"A life is a life. A person is person. Just because you're a royal doesn't make your life more important than that of a commoner. It's about who you are not what you were born as." I replied and happened to glance at Arthur who had a proud smile plastered on his face.

"And I know I speak out of place, sire. But you see enemies where there are friends. You hear the word magic and you become blinded. Allies are hard to come by at this time and if you're not careful, you will find yourself alone." I finished.

"You are right." Uther said. "I owe you a debt for exposing the Witch Finder."

"You owe me nothing. It was Merlin and Gwen you owe." I replied and he nodded, although not meeting my eyes. "If that is all, sire." I said, curtseying and he stayed a moment longer before leaving.

"Gwen, could you give us a moment?" Arthur asked, and I looked up at him, not realizing he was still here.

"Of course, sire." She said, eyeing me carefully before quickly leaving my chambers.

"I too owe you an apology, Circa." Arthur said, putting his hand on the back of a chair as I stood by the table.

"You did nothing…" I replied.

"No. I …" he began.

"No. You did _nothing_." I interrupted, meaning he did nothing, not nothing wrong. He was silent for a moment. "Have I ever given you a reason not to trust me?"

"Of course you haven't. And you didn't deserve any of this. I-I don't know how to apologise." He said and I could see tears starting to form in his eyes.

"I think you should go." I said, but my earlier terseness had gone.

He looked at me despairingly, before turning and leaving my chambers.


	15. Chapter 15

"Ta-da!" I heard someone sing behind me, and I turned around in the corridor to see Arthur standing behind me with his arms spread wide. I frowned at his grinning face. "Ta-da." He said again nodding at something I hadn't seen him holding in one of his hands. It was a gold chain with a beautifully elaborate, gold and bronze cross hanging off it.

"It's lovely." I said blankly.

"Good. Because it's for you." He replied.

We hadn't really spoken this past week. I was still angry at him, but he had been trying desperately to apologise.

"Is it now?" I asked intrigued, as he walked around behind me. He dropped the necklace round my neck and pushed my hair to the side as he did up to clasp. That was very bold of him, considering.

I turned around and he looked very pleased with himself.

"What an improvement." He nodded.

"Sorry?" I asked, incredulously.

"The necklace. It's been improved significantly now that it's on you." He replied and I rolled my eyes.

"Circa…" He began, seriously but I held up my hand.

"I know." I interrupted and sighed. "It's fine."

"Really?" He asked. "I mean, great. But, it's been a week. I never thought you'd forgive me."

"Well, my deal was I'd make you feel bad as long as the marks were still visible, but they're pretty much gone now." I said, looking down at my wrists.

"Seriously?" Arthur scoffed, but I could tell he was relieved. "If you were one of my knights I'd punch you in the arm."

"Go ahead. But I'll probably punch you back." I pointed out and he thought for a moment.

"And with that, I bid you adu're." He decided with a grin and walked backwards, bowing low as he did so, and backed right into Leon, Percival and Lancelot. I snorted in laughter as the knights looked down at the embarrassed prince.

"Sire." Leon greeted, trying to hide a snort.

"Leon, Percival, Lancelot." Arthur greeted tersely. "I was just, uh…pulling up my boots." He said feebly.

"Of course, sire." Leon nodded and I caught Lancelot's eye who was holding back a grin.

"What is it?" Arthur asked, trying to change the subject.

"You're needed in the hall." Leon replied.

"Right." He replied, straightening his shirt before the group made their way into the hall where Uther was speaking to a beautiful woman, with long, chestnut coloured hair and a kind face.

"Lady Catrina, is it really you?" Uther asked her.

"I can scarcely believe it myself." She replied.

"We heard rumors that the house of Tregor had fallen to invaders." He replied.

"All that you heard is true, My Lord. I would not have survived if it were not for my faithful servant, Jonas." She replied and nodded to a hunched man behind her. I gave him a once over. I'd strangely become suspicious of strange looking servants.

"We've been travelling for the last three days. And I fear our trials have taken their toll…" she said breathlessly as her knees buckled and both Uther and Arthur rushed forward. "Forgive me, my Lord." She said to Uther as he held her.

"Your trials are over, My Lady. It will be an honour to help you in any way we can." Uther replied. "Consider yourselves our esteemed guests." He added, before leading her out of the hall.

"Merlin." Arthur called to his servant. "You are to be of service to the Lady Catrina. Anything she needs, make sure she gets it."

"Yes, Sire." Merlin nodded, and hurried after the King.

That night, Catrina joined Arthur, Uther and I at dinner in the hall.

"I met your Father and Mother many years ago. But you wouldn't remember me. You were only two." Catrina said to me across the dinner table and I beamed. Anyone who'd known my mother I held in high regard.

"It is an honour to have you here." Uther said to Catrina. "The houses of Pendragon and Tregor have been allies for a long time."

"Well, I fear the House of Tregor is no more." She replied.

"That is not true, My Lady. It lives on in you." He replied.

"If only that were true." She replied sadly.

"It is. Your modesty, courage and kindness all live on. You are as you always were as a child." Uther assured her.

"I fear I am much changed since then, My Lord." Catrina chuckled, looking round at us and I smiled at her.

"Well, yes, it's true. You are far more beautiful now." Uther replied and I caught Arthur's eye as he scrunched up his nose in repulse. "Will you join me for a ride tomorrow?" He asked.

"Well, I…I don't see why not." She replied. "And, I'd love to get to know your son a little more, perhaps he and Circa could join us."

"What a wonderful idea." Uther nodded. "The strength in befriending the houses of Pendragon, Tregor and Ivistor is immeasurable." He said, pleased. "I know of a stunning place, but of course does not compare to your beauty."

Even I had to bite the inside of my mouth to stop myself from smiling at Uther's advances.

Arthur gave a very unconvincing yawn. "I'm sorry. Hard day's training. If you'll excuse me." He said and stood up. There was no way he was leaving me here with these two.

"I should retire myself." I added, not wanting to be left alone with the pair.

"Of course." Catrina smiled and Uther nodded as I followed Arthur out of the hall.

Once we were out of earshot, I glanced warily at Arthur, wanting to laugh but unsure if he would be offended. There was no need to worry as Arthur burst into laughter and I grinned too.

"Wow." I said.

"That was a strange sight." Arthur agreed as the laughter died.

"I will see you in the morning, then." I said.

"Goodnight, My Lady." He replied and I smiled before turning away and walking up the stairs. I looked back to see him, waiting to see my up and he smiled before I disappeared around the spiral.


	16. Chapter 16

"What a charming idea this is, Uther." Catrina said the next morning to the King as they sat atop their horses in the courtyard.

"A ride before breakfast always gives me a healthy appetite." He replied as I stroked the muzzle of my beautiful horse. Arthur offered me his hand and helped me into the saddle, before he climbed onto his own.

The small group rode through the lower town before leaving Camelot behind, the shining citadel giving way to the beautiful green forest.

"I've had the kitchens prepare us breakfast." Uther said to Catrina. "Let me treat you to a hearty breakfast with beautiful scenery." He added and after a nod to Arthur the two rode off together.

"Don't worry. I have breakfast as well." Arthur said beside me.

"But does it have beautiful scenery as well." I asked dramatically.

"Well, I thought if I just looked at you, that would be plenty." He said smoothly.

"Oh my goodness." I groaned slapping the palm of my hand against my forehead.

"Come on. See if you can keep up." He said, turning his horse and starting off into the forest.

"You're on." I muttered before cantering after him.

We flew through the trees and eventually reached a beautiful river. The forest gave way to the river very suddenly, and I didn't know the area as well as Arthur, so I wasn't expecting to have to suddenly stop. As my horses hooves hit the water, I turned the reigns to stop her from going any further into the river, but with the tight turn, I lost my balance and I slid off the side of the saddle, landing in the cold water.

"Are you alright?" Arthur cried as I stood up in the waist deep water. I burst into laughter, mostly out of shock. He gave me his hand to help me out of the water.

"At least it's a warm day." I said in between laughs. It _was_ a warm day, so it didn't take long for me to dry and soon, Arthur and I were lying on a picnic blanket and cushions, overlooking the river and enjoying an amazing breakfast.

"So, if you weren't bound to Camelot, what would you do?" I asked turning onto my side with my hand holding up my head.

"I don't know. Probably go to a small village, become a farmer, grow crops." He replied, putting his arm behind his head and resting back on the cushions.

"You…a farmer." I laughed.

"Well, obviously I'd take Merlin with me." He scoffed. "I love Camelot more than I can say, but when I'm there, sometimes I feel I can hardly breathe. Everyone expects so much of me. Being here with you? You understand and I can be myself."

"I am lucky because I have Treila to be silly with. Everyone needs someone to unwind with. And I'm glad you can be yourself." I said, before sighing. "We should probably head back soon."

"We could stay a while longer. Don't know when we'll have the chance to do this again." He replied.

"Perhaps when you become a farmer we can be together more often." I said.

"I promise, when I am King, we can." He promised, curling the ends of my hair around his fingers.

"I'll count the days until then." I replied, before leaning down to kiss him. He sighed against my lips and brought his hand up to my face, his other still playing with my hair.


	17. Chapter 17

Later that afternoon, we'd all been called into the hall. I watched as Uther escorted Catrina, regally to the front of the room.

"Thank you all for coming." Uther said, sounding blissfully happy and grinning around at the council. "You're no doubt wondering why I've gathered you here today…Though we live in dark times, I bring you light and love." He continued and I looked beside me at Gwen, whom I shared a confused look with. "I am delighted to inform you that the houses of Tregor and Pendragon are to be united in the closest bond of all… I am to marry Lady Catrina of Tregor." He said and I couldn't help but think how quick this had happened.

"…I am to marry Lady Catrina tomorrow." Uther added after Catrina whispered something in his ear.

I joined the rest of the hall in applauding the couple but noticed that Arthur seemed too stunned to move. He stood there with his mouth open and his hands hanging by his side. So, once the hall had dispersed I made my way to Arthur's chambers to make sure he was okay.

"Come." Arthur called and I opened the door to find Arthur with his chin resting on the table as he rolled an apple between his hands.

"Circa." He said, sitting up when he saw it was me. "Please, sit."

"Don't stop on my account." I replied, nodding to the apple. "Are you okay?" I asked, sitting down next to him.

"Yeah." He replied gloomily.

"You're not filling me with confidence." I said.

"I mean. I want my father to be happy, but I barely know her and now is she to be my mother?" He asked.

"…I-I'm not sure what to say." I said honestly. "But, Ygraine is your mother and she will be your only mother. Catrina will be you Father's wife and the queen of Camelot. And if she's as decent as she seems, then she'll understand that."

"I don't know what to say." He said, shaking his head. "Thank you." He smiled, putting his hand on mine. I caught the tip of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. Arthur leaned towards me, just as there was a knock on the door and he backed away quickly as the door opened and Merlin appeared.

"I'm sorry…" he said, seeing that Arthur had company.

"It's alright, Merlin." I smiled.

"Oh, ok." He replied, relieved and then stood there as if he was trying to sum up the courage to say something.

"Yes?" Arthur encouraged him.

"Arthur. I'm going to tell you something. It's not going to be easy." Merlin began.

"Right." Arthur said tiresomely.

"It concerns the Lady Catrina." Merlin continued.

"You're not using my chambers to spy on her again." Arthur warned him and he blushed when I failed to hide my expression at this bizarre announcement.

"Oh, no." He stammered. "Arthur…She's a troll."

It was silent was a brief moment before Arthur burst out laughing and I also scoffed at this strange accusation.

"She's not that bad." He said.

"I'm serious. She is. She's an actual troll." Merlin tried again.

"Merlin, I know what you're trying to do and I appreciate it. You're a true friend. But it's not about whether I like her or not, it's about what makes my father happy. And when they announced their wedding today, I realised that she makes him happy." Arthur replied.

"But…" Merlin began.

"Enough, Merlin. She's the future Queen of Camelot whether you like it or not." Arthur said, finishing the conversation.

As the sun rose over Camelot the castle was a buzz with excitement. Today the King was to be married and it was to be a wonderful day of celebrations. As the trumpets sounded at the far end of the great hall, the congregation turned to face Uther and Arthur as they walked together, down the aisle. Arthur was wearing his ceremonial dress; his crown, flowing red cape and leather jacket, and if I was completely honest with myself, I wasn't going to be paying much attention to the wedding.

I was also wearing my crown and a green gown. I bowed as the pair passed me and Arthur nodded to Uther before taking his place beside the knights. The trumpets sounded again and Catrina walked in, wearing an intricate silver gown.

"My Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen of Camelot. We are gathered here to celebrate, with the ancient right of handfastening, the union of Uther Pendragon and Lady Catrina of Tregor." Geoffrey of Monmouth said in front of the pair.

"Is it your wish, Uther, to become one with this woman?" He asked. 

"It is." Uther replied.

"Is it your wish, Catrina to become one with this man?" He then asked.

"It is." Catrina replied.

"Do any say nay?" The man asked, and when no one said anything, he continued. "With this garland, I do tie a knot and by doing so, bind your hands and your hearts, for all eternity." He said, tying a floral garland around the couple's hands.

"I now pronounce you to be, husband and wife." He finished and the pair sealed their marriage in a kiss as the hall applauded.


	18. Chapter 18

Since the wedding, things had gone back to normal. As we did every week, Gwen and I walked through the lower town, inspecting the wares of all the stall holders and admiring all the beautiful produce the townsfolk had worked hard to nurture.

However, the beautiful day was short lived when there were the sounds of a scuffle behind me and I turned around to see some of Camelot's guards forcing one of the townsfolk onto his knees as others watched on.

"What's going on?" I asked one of the guards.

"He's refusing to pay the King's new tax, My Lady." He replied.

"What new tax?" I asked.

"The King and Queen have decreed that the people must pay for the sanctuary that Camelot gives them." He replied.

"What do you think you're doing?" I heard Arthur's voice cry behind me.

"He's refusing to pay the king's tax." The guard said again as Arthur stepped in.

"You-you ask for too much. I've given all I can." The old man managed between groans of pain as the guards held him on the ground.

"That's not enough." The guard barked.

"Arthur." I said at his side and he looked around at the townsfolk giving him disgusted glares.

"Let me see." He said and inspected the heavy bag of coins before handing it back to the man. "Release him." Arthur ordered.

"But the King." The guard started.

"Release him. And give them back their money." He repeated and the people's hateful glares disappeared, giving way to pride and adoration.

"Arthur what's going on?" I asked.

"Come on." He said, and put a hand on my back, guiding me up to the palace.

We entered the hall, where Uther and Catrina were sitting on their thrown.

"Sire." Arthur started.

"I gave you a direct order." Uther interrupted.

"The people cannot afford to pay the tax." Arthur replied.

"Don't tell me you're naïve enough to take them at their word." Catrina replied, repulsed.

"You have their loyalty, their good will. Do not forsake that by making

unreasonable demands." I insisted.

"Is it so unreasonable for a king to expect his subjects to obey him?" She asked.

"No, but you risk making enemies of them." I answered.

"Why are you so invested in this matter, anyway?" She asked me.

"Uh…because the people are an important part of the kingdom. Without them, there is no kingdom." I replied, taken aback by her question.

"You should not interfere in things that do not concern you." She advised sternly. "The people will be fine."

"They'll starve." Arthur argued, getting back to the matter at hand.

"Nonsense." Uther said, rising to his feet. "You've grown too soft. Remember these are your subjects, not your friends."

"Why can't they be both?" I asked.

"Because the people do not rule us, we rule them." Uther argued.

"I think you're wrong." Arthur replied.

"I beg your pardon?" Uther growled.

"I said your wrong. Like Circa said, without the people, there is no Camelot. We are as much their servant as they are ours." Arthur replied calmly.

"You allow him to address you in this manner?" Catrina asked, rising out of her thrown to join Uther at his side.

"No. I do not. It will not be tolerated. You will take your men down into the town and go to every house, collecting the payments I demand." Uther boomed.

"I will not." Arthur replied.

"Get out of my sight." Uther hissed and I curtseyed to the pair before leaving with Arthur.

"Are you alright?" I asked as he leant on the balcony, overlooking the courtyard.

"Your saw how he was. He can't stand the sight of me." He sighed.

"That's not true. He loves you." I replied. "Even if _he_ doesn't see it. Everyone appreciates what you did. They know you tried and they won't forget that."

"Maybe he's right. One day I'll be the King of Camelot. I can't be a friend to the people as well as their ruler." He sighed, gazing into the courtyard.

"Of course you can. And you will prove that when you are King." I said. "You have a kind heart and the people will only respect you more because of it."

"Sire, the King has sent for you." Leon said as he walked over to us.

"What for?" Arthur asked.

"I do not know." He replied as we followed him back into the great hall, finding that Uther had called together the council.

"Father." Arthur greeted as he walked in.

"I'm relaxing your duties, revoking your title." Uther declared casually.

"What?" Arthur blurted out.

"We live in dangerous times. I can't have you undermining my authority." He replied.

"You've always welcomed my council in the past." Arthur began.

"You stood against me for all the people to see." Uther said over the top of his son.

"I'm…sorry. Any future grievance I have with you will be held in private." Arthur assured him.

"It's too late for that." Uther waved him away.

"Father, this is…" Arthur said desperately.

"You are to be disinherited. With immediate effect." Uther decreed and you could hear a pin drop as Arthur stared disbelievingly at his father. "You are no longer Crowned Prince of Camelot."

"Sire, Arthur is your son, your natural heir." Gaius tried.

Arthur took a few steps forward so he was standing only a foot away from his Father.

"You've always taught me to be true to my heart, and that's what I've always strived to do. To be the man you wanted me to be. Someone you were proud to call your son." He said.

"…My decision is final." Uther said to him before addressing the rest of the council. "Queen Catrina will be named as rightful heir to the thrown. The ceremony will begin forthwith." He announced and Arthur backed away to stand next to me. I put a hand on his shoulder to show him some support.

"We are gathered here to bare witness, the naming of Queen Catrina as the rightful heir to Camelot." Geoffrey of Monmouth began. "Are you will to take the oath?" He asked her.

"I am." She replied happily and Uther beamed down at her.

"Do you solemnly swear to govern the people of Camelot, to uphold the laws and customs of the land?" He asked. 

"I...do." Catrina replied, a little tensely. 

"Will you, to your power cause law and justice in mercy to be executed in all your judgments?" 

"I will." 

"Will you, to the utmost of your powers..." Geoffrey said.

"I will. I will." Catrina interrupted as she seemed unable to stop an itch on her arm. 

"...maintain the laws..." he continued. 

"Yes, yes." She said restlessly. 

"I'm sorry, you-you must let me finish. The wording must be exactly right to be binding." Geoffrey insisted. 

"Well, get on with it then. I mean, really, where did you dig up this old crone from?" She asked Uther and I frowned, alarmed at her sudden outburst. 

"She's right. Get on with it." Uther acknowledged.

"What?" I muttered under my breathe. 

"Will you, to the utmost of your powers..." Geoffrey began again. 

"Yes, yes." Catrina continued to interrupt. 

"...maintain the laws and customs..." he said over the top of her. 

"I will, I will." 

"...of the land, and serve the people of Camelot?" 

"Yes! Just shut up and give me the crown!" She screeched and I choked in astonishment and Arthur shifted beside me. Geoffrey slowly picked up the crown and was about to place it on Catrina's head when she suddenly leapt up.

"Oh just hurry up!" She muttered before taking the crown, wrenching it on her head and bolting out of the hall. Uther rushed after his beloved wife, and not wanting to miss out on the action, I went too, followed by Arthur and Merlin. We chased the King, who chased the Queen, into the smaller hall where we found her heading for the strong wooden doors.

"Catrina! What's the matter?" Uther asked and she spun around.

"I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me. I-I suddenly felt so hot." She said, her words tumbling over each other.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"Yes! Yes. I-I'm fine." She cried, holding out her hand and stopping me in my tracks. "Really. Thank you. I think I-I just need to be on my own right now." She finished and turned around to pull at the locked door. "Come on, come on, come on." I heard her muttering. "Open!" She shrieked.

"Let me." Arthur said and went to help her with the door but leapt back when he saw something. "What's that?" He asked alarmed, and Catrina spun around, displaying a huge, gnarled, grey hand.

"He-I-oh-it's-I…." She stammered as her face began to contort, turning grey as she shrunk down in size and put on about fifty kilos.

"You're a troll!" Arthur cried and I tried not to wretch, as standing in front of us, was a stumpy, dirty, purple troll with mattered grey hair and…were they tusks?

"How dare you speak about her like that?!" Uther cried.

"What?!" I gasped.

"What is wrong with you?" Arthur added. "Look, at the state of her."

I looked back at the troll who was hopping from foot to foot, trying to somehow get out of this. She then turned around and ripped one of the doors straight off it's hinges. I leapt out of the way, and as the dust settled I saw her disappearing down the hallway.

"She just ripped a door off it's hinges." Arthur cried. "Doesn't that tell you something?" 

"Enough!" Uther boomed.

"She's a troll!" Arthur yelled. "A giant, grey…"

"Stinking." I added.

"…stinking, troll!" He finished.

"Stop it. Haven't you hurt her feelings enough? Insult my wife again and it will be the last think you ever do." Uther finished, and hurried after his wife.

"Oh my…" I managed, a loss for words.


	19. Chapter 19

So, Uther's wife's a troll and everyone seemed horrified, apart from the one person who should be most outraged, but Uther was just as in love as he was before. And ever since then, the troll had been wreaking havoc around the castle. The knights had all produced huge, pussy warts all over their faces, and Gaius had only just cured Arthur of a sudden baldness.

Everyone had been giving both Catrina and Uther a wide berth. And I'd managed to evade Catrina whenever I'd seen her coming, but it was only a matter of time before I walked into her.

I was making my way through one of the corridors when I saw the troll coming in the opposite direction. I stopped in my tracks and quickly headed back the way I'd come, hoping that she'd miss me.

"Come back here." I heard her cackle behind me and I picked up my pace.

I turned the corner and reached my chambers. I tried quickly to unlock the door, but I wasn't fast enough. There was a cackle behind me and I spun around, trying to press myself through the solid door.

"You and Arthur have cause me too much trouble. A punishment by your queen is in order." She growled in front of me and in the palm of her hand conjured a swirling, green ball. With a flick of her finger, the magical ball flew up and hit me square in the face. I saw white light, and a numb sensation spread across my nose, but once the light had faded, the troll was no where to be seen.

I hurried into my chambers and locked the door. My face still felt funny, so I walked over to the mirror to see if it were bruising. When I saw my reflection I shrieked in horror. My nose had grown five inches in length, had produced three huge, hairy warts and had become hooked at the end.

"Ohhh." I whimpered, looking at the horrible sight.

"Circa." I voice called from the door, following a knock. I ran over to it and pushed my back against the door, just in case the lock wouldn't work.

"Uh…hello?" I called back.

"It's Arthur." The voice called and I cursed under my breathe. "May I come in?"

"Uh…no." I replied.

"Oh…okay. Um…are you okay?" He asked.

"Yes." I called back.

"Can I come back later?" He asked.

"Oh…" I muttered. "Alright, just come in now." I said and unlocked the door before sprinting over to my desk and sitting down with my hand on my face covering my nose.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Nothing." I replied and it didn't even sound convincing to me.

"Are you sure you're alright?" He asked.

"…Promise not to laugh." I sighed before moving my hand.

Arthur gasped and put his hand over his mouth. I planted my hand firmly across my face, wishing I hadn't shown him.

"Was this the troll?" He asked, in the way you'd ask a little child if they'd been naughty. Slightly patronizing. I nodded miserably. "I'll get Gaius." He decided and left the room returning shortly with the court physician and Merlin.

"Troll magic is quite potent, My Lady." Gaius said, swirling a potion around one of the bottles.

"But you can cure it?" I asked nervously.

"Yes." He nodded and handed me the small vial, which I downed quickly. I waited until I felt a strange tingling sensation on my nose and judging by the expressions of the others, my face was back to normal.

"Thank you, Gaius." I said gratefully.

"So, Lady Catrina is a troll." Merlin said.

"If you say I told you so." Arthur warned.

"I wasn't going to…" he replied. "…but it's true, if you had listened to me, then none of this would've happened." He added and Arthur glared at him.

"You did tell us, Merlin. I'm sorry we didn't believe you." I said and Merlin looked like he was about to burst with pride.

"Now look what you've done. He's going to be living off this for weeks." Arthur grumbled as Merlin grinned.

"We believe Uther has been enchanted. We've found a way to break the spell, but we're going to need your help." Gaius said.

"Okay. What is this great plan?" Arthur asked, unconvinced.

"The only way to break the spell is if Uther cries tears of pure remorse. So, if he were to see you die, then that would make him cry, which would break the spell." Merlin explained. "Gaius has made a potion that gives the appearance of death without the actual dying bit."

"We have to make your Father cry." Gaius added.

"He doesn't care about me anymore." Arthur replied.

"That's Catrina's influence. I've known your Father for many, many years, and there's never been anyone he loves more than you." Gaius assumed him. "It's perfectly safe. A single drop of the antidote will reverse the effects immediately..."

"But don't worry, you'll be fine. It's not that important." Merlin said.

…If it's administered in time." Gaius finished.

"If it isn't?" Arthur asked tiresomely.

"You will be dead." Gaius nodded.

"You just said it wasn't important." Arthur cried to Merlin.

"Yeah, I suppose it is a bit important." Merlin decided and Arthur rubbed his face with his hands in frustration.

"Merlin will have the antidote. Once I administer the poison…potion. He has half an hour to get it to you." Gaius assured him.

"Are you sure this is safe?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

"It's the only way to save Camelot." Gaius replied.

"You'd better not be late." Arthur said to Merlin.

"Am I ever?" He replied.

"I don't know…are you sure this is the only way?" I asked.

"Yes, My Lady." Gaius replied.

"I won't be late. I promise." Merlin said sweetly before he went to help Gaius.

"Don't worry. Half an hour and it'll be all over." Arthur said to me.

"I hope so." I replied and Arthur gave me a quick smile before kissing me on the forehead and walking over to where Gaius and Merlin were waiting.

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Gaius asked him.

"It's the only way to save Camelot." Arthur replied. He took the vial from Gaius and after shaking his head he drank the potion. We waited a few moments for something to happen, and Arthur shrugged thinking that it wasn't going to work, before he tipped forward. We caught him and laid him on the ground.

"Time to inform the King of the bad news." Gaius said.


	20. Chapter 20

Once we were out of the room, I went and hid round the corner while Gaius went to tell Uther the news.

"Do you really think this is going to work?" I asked Merlin.

"Don't worry. Everything will work out fine. You'll have Arthur back, I promise." He replied.

"What do you mean, I'll have him back? We're just friends, Merlin." I said.

"That's not what he said." He replied cheekily.

"What did he say…?" I started.

"But I suppose if you're just friends, you don't really want to know what he said." He interrupted.

"Oh, no. Of course not." I said, trying to sound blasé about it.

"Don't worry, My Lady. Your secret's safe with me, just as mine is safe with you." He said as there were hurried footsteps and we peaked around the corner to see Uther pushing his way into the room, quickly followed by Catrina.

There was a pause before there was a loud cry from Uther. "What trickery is this?!" He cried.

"Let's go." Merlin said and together we hurried into the room. The scene that met us would have been amusing, if it hadn't been so alarming. Uther was being protected by two guards against an angry, gurgling troll while Arthur was lying peacefully on the ground.

Merlin dropped down beside Arthur and poured the antidote into his mouth. The effect was instant. As soon as the liquid touched his lips, his eyes fluttered open. He looked around, a little dazed before seeing the troll about to attack Uther.

He leapt up and hurled himself at her, knocking her off balance. Arthur was still out of it, which meant Catrina was able to lift him off the ground and throw him against the far wall. As he slumped to the ground, I caught sight of Jonas skulking over to the Prince with a knife. I looked around and saw one of Arthur's daggers hanging by his sword. I lunged for it and before Jonas could lift the knife above his head, I threw the dagger. It hit him square in the back and he wheezed, before collapsing against the wall.

Arthur clambered up but didn't see the troll behind him. Beside me I heard Merlin mutter something, and the carpet was ripped out from under Catrina's feet. Arthur spun around and impaled the troll with his sword, and after a couple of loud farts the troll was silent.

"My boy." Uther gasped and embraced his son.

"My Lord." Gaius said, entering. "Let me help you." He added and guided a bewildered Uther away.

"Arthur." I sighed happily and ran over to him, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"I don't think this is how it's supposed to go." He said.

"What?" I asked confused.

"You've saved my life way more than I have yours. It's simply not fair." He joked and I laughed before hugging him again and he sighed into my hair.

"I'd…like to thank you for…exposing this attack on our state." Uther said to Arthur and I at dinner that night. No one had said a word until now, and I knew that this was going to be the one and only time I would ever see Uther embarrassed. "Once again magic was used to strike at the heart of Camelot."

"You mean your heart." Arthur corrected and Uther looked pained. "How many nights did you share with a troll, again?"

"Obviously I was under it's spell." He replied, sounding sick and Arthur stifled a laugh. "I did many things that I…regret." He added.

"Father, I really don't want to know the details." Arthur said before he burst out laughing, and I couldn't stop myself either, with Uther being too disgusted to even care.


	21. Chapter 21

"It's a beautiful day." I said to Gwen as I saw her looking out the window of my chambers as I changed. "Gwen?" I asked. She didn't reply. "Gwen." I said again, stepping out from behind the screen to join her at the window. "Gwen, are you okay?" I asked.

"Sorry?" She asked, startled and I frowned at her, concerned. "I'm sorry, My Lady. My mind is elsewhere this morning."

"Is there anything I can help with?" I asked.

"Oh, no. I couldn't." She replied.

"Gwen. Of course you can." I assured her.

"I have a friend who's come to Camelot from the town of Longstead and their village is under attack by some illness that they've never seen before." She said.

"I've asked Gaius if he could spare a few days to help them but he and Merlin have their hands full with a sweating sickness sweeping the castle. So, I want to help but I can't. I'm no physician." She finished.

"There may be something I _can_ help with." I said. "Back in Ivistor, one of my closest friends is the physician's daughter, and after being around her and her mother for most of my life, I couldn't help but pick a few things up." I explained.

"Perhaps, I could go and see if I could help. And if I end up being as useful as a toothbrush, we can at least bring our findings back to Gaius. If your friend would have me, of course."

"Would you really do that?" She asked.

"Of course." I replied.

"Thank you, My Lady. Truly. Shall we leave in an hour?" She asked.

"Sounds good to me." I replied and she smiled happily before hurrying out of my chambers.

I changed into a pair of black pants, knee high leather boots, an off the shoulder blue shirt and leather waistcoat. I grabbed my riding gloves and dark red cloak before leaving my chambers and heading down into the stables where I found Arthur grooming his horse.

"Where are you off to?" He asked.

"Gwen and I are heading to Longstead. Their village has fallen pray to a mysterious illness, so we going to help. We'll be back tomorrow." I said.

"You're going on your own?" He asked.

"We'll be fine." I replied, leading my horse out of it's stable. "Don't miss me too much." I added and seeing as nobody was around I gave him a quick kiss.

"I won't." He replied as I left the stables.

A few minutes later, I met up with Gwen and her friend, and we were about to go on our way when the sound of five pair of hooves reached our ears. I turned around to see Gwaine, Percival, Leon, Elyan and Lancelot riding towards us in their full Camelot garb.

"You thought we were going to miss the party?" Gwaine asked.

"Arthur said you'd like us to accompany you." Leon added.

"Did he now?" I asked, leaning an elbow on my saddle as I looked over at the steps where Arthur was watching. He waved patronisingly at me. "Well, the more the merrier." I said, climbing up into the saddle. "We should reach Longstead by nightfall."

And with one final wave to Arthur the small party left the courtyard and began our journey towards the small village.

"So, Gwen. Are you proud of your brother being a knight?" Leon asked her as we walked through the thick forest.

"I am. But not just because he's a knight, but because of the man he's become." She replied.

"Absolutely. You're outstanding." Gwaine gushed to Elyan. "Especially when it comes to sweet talking the ladies."

"Don't listen to him." Elyan replied.

"And do you know who Gwaine's in love with, Circa?" Percival asked.

"Of course. Himself. You only need to spend two seconds with him to realise that." I answered and the group laughed as Gwaine smiled to himself.

"Then what about you, My Lady?" Gwaine asked. "Who are you in love with?"

"…no one." I lied.

"Aha! That pause means there is someone." He replied. "You can tell us."

"No." I said stubbornly.

"Come on." Percival urged, getting in on the fun.

"No. I am a Princess and do not have to answer to the likes of you." I said in mock regality.

"It must be me, then." Percival decided. "Right, My Lady?"

"Of course, My Love." I replied sweetly.

"It's official." He announced to his friends who rolled their eyes and chuckled.

We reached Longstead as the sun began to set. The elder of the village stepped out of the small crowd that had gathered to meet us.

"Mary, John. It's good to see you." Gwen said to her friends, as I jumped down from the saddle. 

"Thank you for coming." John replied. "Where's Gaius?"

"He was busy so I've come to help in any way I can." I said stepping forward and the small group bowed. "Please. Will you let me help?" 

"I did not know you were a physician, My Lady." John replied.

"I'm not, but I hopefully know enough to be able to at least diagnose them." I said. 

"It is an honour to have you. This way." He said and lead me into a nearby house where three men were lying on beds, looking as white as ghosts. I felt for a pulse on each man, and they were all faint.

"How long have they been like this?" I asked.

"Three days. We've tried to feed them, keep them warm, but nothing seems to help." John answered.

"They've all got fevers. So, let's focus on bringing those down first." I decided. "Could I have a bowl of cool water and some sugar, please."

"What's the sugar for?" Gwen asked.

"They're low on energy, so giving them sugar should provide them with enough to fight whatever's ailing them." I replied.

"And will that help cure them?" John asked.

"Let's see what tomorrow brings." I answered.

That night, Gwen, the knights and I all slept on the straw strewn floor of the barn. Johns wife, Mary had insisted that I take her bed and it had taken a lot of work to convince her otherwise. As I lay awake on the cold floor I worried what would happen to the townsfolk if there was no improvement in the morning.

As I mulled over these thoughts, I heard a sort of rustling, hissing noise outside. I sat up when I heard the noise again, this time sounding like it was at the barn door. I threw off the thin blanket and carefully stepped over the sleeping knights. I slowly pushed open the door and looked around the town, bathed in moonlight.

The hissing sound came again from further away this time. So, I picked up a wooden fishing rod resting against the barn wall and followed the noise. I made my way round to the back of the barn, where all was quiet.

I whirled around as a rustling sound came from where I'd just been. It was getting closer and closer to the corner I was behind. I grasped the rod tightly, and lunged around the corner coming face to face with Gwaine.

"Ah!" I yelled in surprise and he held jumped violently. "Gwaine." I hissed half our to relief and half out of annoyance.

"Sorry, call of nature." He replied as my poor heart recovered.

"I could've killed you." I gasped.

"With a fishing rod?" He asked. "Sir Gwaine was slain with a fishing rod. Mm. The stuff of legends." He chuckled and I laughed in relief. "After you." He said, and together we went back to the barn.

I didn't hear the hissing noise again that night and fell into an uneasy sleep.


	22. Chapter 22

"Still no change." I though aloud the next morning as I examined the men.

"They're dying?" John asked, behind me.

"I'm sorry." I replied.

"Have you considered sorcery?" He asked.

"Why do you say that?" I asked. 

"The other night, I felt a presence, an evil in the air." He answered, describing exactly the same experience I'd had just last night.

"We need to return to Camelot. I suspect only Gaius will know what to do." I replied and within an hour the knights, Gwen and I were riding out of Longstead, back to Camelot.

We'd reached the halfway point when Leon held up his hand for us to stop.

"Dismount and muzzle your horses." He said and pointed ahead of him, where there was a small valley with smoke rising from it. We dismounted from our horses and snuck closer to the lip of the valley on foot.

"Bandits." Gwen whispered as we caught sight of a small group of men milling around a temporary camp.

"Over there." Gwaine added and pointed to a group of four men who were jostling a young girl with her wrists bound together.

"Wait!" I hissed and grabbed for Gwaine as he leapt up, running down into the valley to save the girl. The men were no match for the knights, and soon, those who hadn't been cut down were running from the valley.

"Here." Percival called and walked over carrying the girl. He knelt on the ground with her resting on his knees. I thought she was unconscious, but when I bent down to untie her bonds she let out an ear splitting scream and squirmed away.

"Hey, hey. It's alright. It's alright." Percival soothed, holding her close. "We're knights of Camelot. You're safe now."

"Here." I said gently and reached again for her hands. She pulled away again but I caught her. "Now, there is no need for that. My name's Circa. What's your's?" I asked.

"Lamia." She said quietly.

"What happened to you, Lamia?" Gwen asked her.

"I was travelling home and the bandits took me." She said and then pressed herself into Percival's embrace.

"Are you strong enough to ride?" Leon asked her and she nodded. "Then let's get out of here, before they return."

We continued on our way towards Camelot, but as night fell we had no choice but to make camp. Again, I couldn't sleep that night. I knew there was nothing to worry about, Percival was on watch so not even a bear would dare come close. So, my blood ran cold when I heard the familiar hissing noise circling the camp. I reached for my sword lying beside me and sat up, looking to where Percival…had been sitting.

"Percival." I whispered loudly, and when there was no reply I got up and started looking around the camp. Perhaps he'd heard the noise too and was going to investigate.

I came around a large tree and a twig snapped under my foot causing a sudden movement on the other side of the tree and I saw Percival step away from Lamia, his sword pointed at me.

"What are you doing?" I asked him. He lowered his sword and after looking at me like I was a piece of dirt on the bottom of his boot, he picked up Lamia and walked back to the camp.

There were no more disruptions that night and I eventually got to sleep only to be awoken a few hours later with the sun.

"Would you…?" Gwen said, trying to give Lamia some food, but she flinched away. "I'll just put it here then." She sighed and put the bowl next to her before walking over to me as I shrugged on my waistcoat. "She still won't eat, poor thing."

"We ride east with the sun." Leon announced.

"I thought Camelot lies west of here." I said. 

"Lamia has asked that we take her home." Elyan replied.

"She'll have to come with us. Gaius needs to treat the people in Longstead." I said, shaking my head, thinking that would be the end of it.

"You dare to question our judgement? You are not a knight and you're not a physician. You're not even of Camelot. You have no say in this matter." Leon growled, and I was honestly taken aback at how crudely he spoke.

"She's right. We have to go back…" Gwen tried.

"Stay out of this, Gwen. It's none of your businesses." Elyan told off his sister.

Leon made his way over to Lamia with a flask of water, but Gwaine pushes past him, grabbing the flask out of his hand as he went intending to offer it to Lamia himself.

"Why don't you watch what you're doing?" Leon warned him. 

"Why don't you watch your damn tongue?" Gwaine replied smartly.

"You'd do well to learn some manners." He replied.

"Nothing I can learn from you, Leon." Gwaine said, pushing his fellow knight roughly in the chest.

"Enough!" I ordered as Leon shoved him back. Ignoring me, they both drew their swords and lunged at each other.

"What are they doing?" Gwen gasped. I shook my head and marched forward.

"What's gotten into you?!" I cried, stepping between, which in hindsight was a stupid idea as Leon's sword nicked my cheek. "I said stop!" I ordered loudly, and thankfully they stopped. "If you really want to head East, then you don't have time to fight like children."

"Fine. Mount up. We're leaving." Leon huffed as he walked back to his horse. 'A sorry would be nice to.' I thought to myself and glanced at Lamia who was twisting her hair around her finger, smiling contentedly at the arguing knights.

"Are you alright?" Gwen asked, looking at my face.

"Fine." I answered, holding a cloth against the bleeding cut. "There's something not right about this." I added as we climbed up onto our horses. "They wouldn't brush off those villagers knowing they may be close to death."

"Elyan's the same. I hardly recognise him." She replied.

"I think it's something to do with her." I said, nodding at the girl in front of us.

"Lamia?" She asked, unconvinced.

"The knights are like brothers. Yet they quarrel like foes." I said. "It started the moment we found her."

"Wait here. I'll scout ahead." Elyan announced and rode off ahead.

Half an hour had passed and Elyan hadn't returned.

"Where is he?" Gwen asked worriedly.

"And where's Lamia?" I added, suddenly realising that the strange girl had disappeared.

"Lamia!" Percival and Leon called, but there was no reply.

"Stay here. We'll find them." Leon ordered and the three knights headed off in search of their friend.

"Don't worry. They'll find your brother soon enough." A small voice said beside me and I jumped as Lamia appeared out of the shadows.

"Here!" A shout came up as Percival carried an unconscious Elyan on his shoulders.

"Oh, g… Elyan! What happened to him?" Gwen cried.

"Don't know. We found him like this." Gwaine replied.

"Circa, she did this." Gwen whispered shakily to me, gesturing towards an innocent looking Lamia.

"We need to get him back to Camelot." I said.

"I know this area." Lamia piped up, rising to her feet. "There's a castle not far from here. We could take shelter there. You-you could tend to your friend."

"No. We need to get back to Camelot." I said, losing my patience. "You need to realise that there is something at play here. To save Elyan and those other villages, we need…"

"Silence!" Percival yelled. "You have no say in these matters. You either come with us, or you stay here. Let's go." He finished, carrying Elyan over to his horse.

I glanced at Gwen. Neither of us knew anything about this magic, or what Lamia had planned, all we could do was go along for the ride.


	23. Chapter 23

"We could try reasoning with them or tell them Lamia's responsible." Gwen suggested as we rode at the back of the party towards Lamia's destination.

"They won't listen. They're helpless. Under some enchantment." I replied.

"Isn't there anything we could do?" She asked.

"Well…Arthur's our only hope now." I realised, remembering that we were supposed to be back in Camelot two days ago. "We've been gone too long. He must know something's wrong." 

"He'll never find us now. We're in the middle of nowhere." Gwen said hopelessly.

"Then we need to give him some help." I decided and making sure the knights weren't watching, tore some of the material off the bottom of my shirt and tied it to a nearby branch. "I hope this works." I muttered, and continued like this for the next few hours, leaving signs for Arthur to follow.

'I hope we reach this castle soon, otherwise I'm not going to have any shirt left.' I thought to myself.

We rode further and further, and didn't stop as the sun began to set. Neither Gwen or I had any clue where we were and if I was honest with myself, I was becoming more scared by the minute. And then, suddenly in front of us was a huge black castle, looming menacingly over our small group. We dismounted from our horses and after lighting a few torches, walked towards where the strong, double doors used to be.

"Percival. This is madness." I said, pulling the knight aside to try reasoning with him again. "You are under her enchantment."

Percival watched as the group entered the hall, and I felt a glimmer of hope that maybe, he was having second thoughts. He turned back to me and stepped forward, pushing me against the castle wall.

"You heard Sir Leon." He growled. "We've no interest in your opinion. So keep your mouth shut, or I'll shut it for you." He finished before storming off. This was hopeless.

I followed Percival into the hall and found the group staring at the bone strewn floor.

"What is this place?" Gwen asked quietly as I looked around at the skeletons on the marble steps and below the windows.

"Where's Lamia?" Leon asked and we all looked around for the girl.

"We need to find her." Gwaine said.

"No. We need to get out of here. She's lead us to a trap." I argued.

"Enough." Leon ordered.

"She's poisoned your minds. It was Lamia who attacked Elyan." I tried.

"I said enough!" Leon ordered and drew his sword, pointing it at my throat.

"Please! My brother's hurt. We need to find him somewhere warm." Gwen interrupted, and after a moment, Leon put down his sword and marched towards a small room off of the main hall. Gwaine put Elyan down and Gwen sat beside him, resting his head on her knee.

"I'll make us a fire." Gwaine said.

"Percival and I will search for Lamia." Leon added before turning to me. "You will stay here and do as Gwaine says." He growled as there was a menacing crash from Gwaine as he crushed an old crate with his foot to use for firewood.


	24. Chapter 24

"If he doesn't get some help soon…" Gwen began but couldn't finish the sentence as she stroked her brother's head.

"He'll be alright, Gwen." I assured her, but I was far from sure.

"We need more firewood." Gwaine announced.

"I'll get it." I said, getting up and moving towards the doorway.

"No." Gwaine laughed humorously. "You stay where you are. I'll get it myself." He said facing me in the doorway.

"Gwaine, listen to me. It's not safe for you out there." I urged.

"You telling me what to do?" He asked, putting a menacing hand on my shoulder and I wanted nothing more than to say 'Uh, yes. Obviously.' But I knew that that wouldn't go down well, so I stayed quiet. "That's what I thought." He scoffed before pushing past me and out of the room.

I shook my head and went to sit beside Gwen.

"I don't understand it. Why have only the knights been enchanted? Why not us?" She asked.

"We're women." I guessed.

"I suppose an enchantress would only enchant men." She shrugged unhappily. We both stiffened as there was a loud scream.

"Stay here." I advised her, picking up a torch and my sword.

"Where are you going?" She asked nervously.

"To find the others." I replied before settling my nerves with a breath and leaving the room.

I heard the all too familiar hissing noise and followed it before I found my way into a crumbling corridor with ivy climbing the walls. In the faint light I thought I saw the outline of Gwaine, standing against one of the pillars.

"Gwaine." I whispered, stepping over the rubble towards him. "Gwaine?" I whispered again as I reached him and put my hand on his shoulder. As soon as I touched him, he rolled around the pillar and collapsed against me, his eyes wide and mouth gaping.

"Gwaine!" I gasped and laid him on the ground.

I didn't have time to tend to him as I heard the hissing noise around the corner ahead. I ran to the end of the corridor and found Lamia leaning over Leon with Percival a few meters away in the same state as Gwaine.

"No!" I yelled.

"It's too late for them. And now it's too late for you too." Lamia hissed as her eyes turned green and I watched in horror as she fell onto her hands and knees, hissing and transforming into a huge, tentacled beast.

I was rooted to the floor in fear and only managed to move when a tentacle came flying at me. I dropped to the floor as the creature advanced on me. I scrambled to my feet and sprinted down the corridor, banging into Gwen as I rounded the corner.

"Circa! What…" She started, but was interrupted as a huge tentacle wrapped around my waist and dragged me back down the corridor.

"Let her go!" Gwen screamed from behind me and ran forward, slicing through the creature's tentacle with a sword. The force of the collision knocked her to the ground beside me and as the creature towered over us, we scrambled backwards.

The creature reared, splaying it's tentacles, ready to strike and I shut my eyes, shielding my head with my arms. I heard it screech. Here it comes. But it didn't. I opened my eyes in time to see it collapse to the ground and twitch once before it was still. Sticking out of it's back was a sword and behind it was Arthur.

"Ohh." I sighed and flopped onto my back in relief. I lay on my back, letting my heart slow down. Arthur grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet.

"Took you long enough." I said and he laughed while he held me close to him.

"They'll all be fine." Gaius said as he tended to the knights. We'd made the trip back to Longstead where Gaius had cured the townsfolk and was treating the others.

"So this enchantment only affected men?" Arthur asked me and Gwen as we spoke with the knights.

"Yes, but it still confuses me." Gwen replied.

"Let me put it this way." I said to her. "Men have an inherent weakness we do not share."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Arthur said.

"Me either." Percival agreed.

"I'm not saying you're weak. I'm saying all men are weak." I assured them and Gwen snorted as they glowered.


	25. Chapter 25

When the sun was low in the sky, we were ready to move out. The ride back to Camelot would get us home before complete darkness fell. I spoke with Arthur most of the way as the knights roared with laughter at one thing or another.

However, all jollity ceased when Camelot came into view. The entire citadel was covered in flames and huge, flaming balls were launched into the air from unseen catapults.

"Camelot's under attack." Merlin said under his breath.

"How? We were gone only hours." Arthur gasped.

"I don't know." I shook my head in disbelief.

"Come on!" Leon shouted and we raced back to the castle. When we burst through the gates we were instantly separated and swamped by frightened villagers, enemies and flames.

Once I'd gotten my bearings, I headed for the tower. I'd seen enemies scaling the walls on the way in, and even though I didn't know what was going on, fighting was definitely a must.

I ran along the turreted wall where knights were swiping away enemies as they scaled the wall with ladders.

I stationed myself at the top of one of the ladders, cutting down men dressed in black as they clambered over the wall. I looked over at the other knights being overwhelmed by more and more men flowing over the walls. There was no way we would be able to keep this up much longer. I didn't have to worry much longer as a cry came up from along the line.

"Fall back! Fall back!" I heard Leon booming. No one needed to be told twice as we spun around and ran back into the castle. Gwaine, Leon, Percival and I reached the hall with fifty of Cenred's men on our heels, and we slammed the door shut behind us, bolting ourselves in.

"Whatever it takes, Gaius. As long as I can swing a sword." I heard Arthur's voice and I turned around to see Merlin and Gaius leaning over the bruised and battered Prince.

"Are you alright?" I asked, resting a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah. Fine." He groaned. "Well, maybe a broken rib or two."

"How are we faring?" Leon asked. 

"The Lower town's been taken. You were our last line of defence. We won't hold out much longer." Merlin replied.

"How long before they reach us?" Gaius asked nodding at the door.

"Maybe a few minutes." I replied, shaking my head.

"They're coming for Arthur. If they find him, they'll kill him." Merlin said.

"We must get him to safety while we still can." Percival decided.

"Arthur would never abandon his people." Gwaine replied.

"Barricade the doors. Give us as much time as you can." Merlin ordered the knights and they did so, as I went with Gaius and Merlin over to Arthur.

"My Lady. Might I suggest…" Gaius began.

"It's okay, Gaius. She knows." Merlin interrupted. "We need to get Arthur out of here. But he won't go willingly, we have to use magic."

"What are you thinking?" I asked.

"What if Arthur were to lose his will?" Gaius suggested.

"I'll try." Merlin replied.

"In front of Arthur?" I whispered out of earshot.

"We could distract him." Merlin said, with a slightly raised eyebrow. I never thought Merlin could be patronising but he was. I rolled my eyes.

"What are you…" Arthur began, looking at Merlin who was focusing on him. However, I didn't let him finish his sentence. I took his face in my hands and kissed him. At first he was taken aback but after a while, he slid his uninjured arm around my waist.

I heard Merlin mutter something under his breathe and when Arthur's arm went slack and backed away.

He had developed a very sleepy expression on his face, as if he'd had to much wine. He looked like a peaceful drunk

"We lead to leave now, Sire." Merlin said.

"…Of course." Arthur nodded and stood up, wavered slightly and almost tipped over but Leon and Percival caught him.

"Let's go." They said and together we made our way to the servant's door. There was a loud bang from the bolted doors, like they were going at it with a battering ram.

"I'll keep them off your back as long as I can." Gwaine said and Percival looked hesitant but grasped his hand firmly.

"Come on, My Lady. We must hurry." Leon said to me as I looked back.

"Go." I said to the group.

"We won't leave you." Merlin insisted.

"Merlin. Go." I urged.

"We'll be back." He promised. 

"I thought that went without saying." I joked. "Now go." I insisted and after one more thought, he Leon and Percival carried Arthur out of the hall. I ran back to Gwaine who was standing in front of the doors, waiting for them to crash open.

"You shouldn't be here." He said when he saw me.

"Like hell." I replied and he grinned before looking back to the door.

There was a huge crack and the doors crashed open as men barged into the hall. I was ready to strike when I spotted Morgana in the middle of the pack. When her eyes locked with mine they shone with a furious delight.

"Well, well. Look what we have here." She cooed as more of Cenred's men swarmed into the hall. There was no way the two of us could fight off all of them, so Gwaine through down his sword and I unhappily followed suit.

"Take them away." Morgana ordered and Gaius, Gwaine and I were pushed down to the dungeons.

The cell door was locked behind us and an exhausted Gaius sat down heavily on the single bed.

"Are you alright, Gaius?" I asked him.

"Yes, just tired." He sighed as the cell door was wrenched open again, and Elyan was thrown onto the stone floor.

Gwaine went to help him up but Elyan didn't move a muscle.

"Elyan." Gaius called to him as Gwaine rolled him onto his back. His eyes were wide and staring into nothingness.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked nervously. "What's that?" I added, pointing to a red mark on the side of his neck.

"This is the work of the Nathaer Serpant. He's been tortured to the limit of human endurance." Gaius replied. "I'm afraid that means Morgana knows where Arthur is."

"Can you help him?" Gwaine asked.

"I'll do what I can." He replied and we lifted Elyan onto the bed.


	26. Chapter 26

By the time night began to fall, Gaius had managed to nurse Elyan back to his almost normal self. Although, now Gaius was the one we needed to worry about. We were all hungry but Gaius was deteriorating quickly from lack of food, water and rest.

I was leaning against one of the walls, watching Gwaine as he inspected some dirt on the barred window cell when the sound of multiple footsteps approaching met my ears.

"Have you come to gloat, My Lady?" Gaius asked as Morgana appeared at the door, flanked by two men.

"Is that any way to treat an old friend?" she replied.

"Can't you see he's starving?" Gwaine asked darkly. "We all are."

"Of course you are." Morgana replied. "Well I'll have the kitchen prepare you a feast." She mocked. Gwaine stepped forward so he was right up, against the bars, staring at Morgana.

"I think not of myself. But of Gaius. He can't survive long without food." He said.

"Gwaine. So handsome, so selfless." Morgana cooed, stepping close to the bars from her side. "Of course you shall have some food…As long as you're prepared to sing for it." She grinned as her two guards stepped forward and unlocked the cell doors. They marched Gwaine out and down the corridor until their footsteps could no longer be heard.

"What are they going to do?" I asked.

"Make him fight for it." Gaius replied weakly.

When Gwaine returned, he had a nasty cut on his cheek and clutched a small loaf of bread, half turned green with mold. He bent down next to Gaius and pushed the loaf into his hand.

"I can't." Gaius said weakly. "I am an old man, you three will need your strength."

Gwaine looked back at Elyan and I before leaving the loaf with the old phycisian and walking over to join us.

"How long do you think he'll be able to keep going?" Elyan asked quietly.

"If he eats, maybe a little over a week." I replied.

"How long do you think it'll be before Morgana's men catch up to Arthur and the others?" I asked Elyan.

"They were heading for Ealdor." He replied. "They've half a days lead, but they're on foot."

"They'll reach them in a matter of hours." Gwaine concluded.

It wasn't until the sun dipped low in the sky that we had any more visitors. When the cell door was wrenched open, Gwaine was pulled up and marched towards the door.

"Gwaine…" Elyan began, surprised at how little of a fight he put up.

"Hey, at least we get to eat." Gwaine replied and he was marched down the corridor.

This continued for the next five days. Gwaine was brought to fight for food, and every time he returned with loaves of moldy bread. Gaius was barely hanging on to consciousness and we were giving our food to him, so we were all running on empty. On the sixth day of our confinement, the cell doors were once again wrenched open and three of Morgana's men marched in.

"Her too." One of the men said as his companions reached for Gwaine.

"Why?" I demanded, but the man just laughed as I was pulled up from the ground. I barely had enough energy to stand up, let alone fight off the men.

So, I was marched through the palace with Gwaine and into the throne room where Cenred was sitting lazily on the throne, flanked by his men and Morgana beside him.

"Ah, Princess. So good to see you." He hissed maliciously as I stood in front of him.

"What do you want, Cenred?" I asked, to tired for any kind of smart comeback.

"Well as you know, Camelot's finest has been fighting to keep you all fed for the past week, but I must say that he's not been doing all that well recently." He said.

"I wonder why." Gwaine drawled.

"So, I thought I'd give him some encouragement and well, it'll give me some entertainment too, seeing as the Prince has deserted his kingdom." Cenred finished and gestured to two of the men flanking his throne. They stepped forward and pushed me towards Cenred. He caught my wrist and pulled me onto his lap.

"Think carefully about what you're doing, Cenred." Gwaine growled as he was held back by two men.

"Oh, I am." He replied, running a finger down the side of my face and when I tried to pull away he grabbed my jaw and pulled me back to him. "You will fight all these men, or she will be mine." He challenged, twirling my hair around his finger as he stuck his nose into my neck and growled hungrily at the scent of my perfume.

"You will regret that, Cenred." Gwaine growled as the remainder of his men surrounded him.

I watched nervously as he fought off man after man, and tried to ignore Cenred breathing down my neck.

As the last of Cenred's men fell, I pushed away from the horrible king and went to help Gwaine as he struggled to stay upright.

"Enough, Cenred." I growled and I saw his jaw clench in anger.

"Take them away!" He bellowed and we were pushed back to the cell.

As the door was locked once more, Elyan caught Gwaine as he collapsed out of exhaustion.

"Are you alright?" he asked me.

"No harm done." I replied. "Gwaine can't fight again. Not like this."

"I fear Gaius does not have long for this world." He said and I looked over to the old physician, still lying semi conscious on the bed.

"We should get some rest." I said.

"We haven't eaten for a week and we're all running on fumes. I fear that if we try and sleep we may never wake up again." He replied.

Elyan was right. As the sun began to set I could barely keep my eyes open and I was so low on energy that I couldn't even move. And as the sun dipped below the horizon my eyes shut and everything went black.


	27. Chapter 27

A loud rumble shook the entire castle, and somehow my eyes slowly opened.

"Elyan." I managed as I saw him looking through the bars of the cell window.

"The castle is under attack, My Lady." He replied. "It's Arthur."

There was a loud crash down the corridor and five figures ran into view.

"About time, boys." Gwaine said, as he stayed, slumped against the wall, but had a grin on his face. The door to the cell was yanked open and Percival, Lancelot, Leon, Merlin and Arthur burst in.

"You a'right?" Percival asked Elyan.

"I've been locked up with Gwaine, for a week." He replied and his friend grinned.

"Circa." Arthur panted, and dropped down beside me. He tried to pull me up, but I was dead weight and couldn't stand on my own. "Oh, are-are you hurt?" he asked, his face stained with worry.

"I thought I should point out that I've spent more time _in_ these cells than I have _out_ of them." I said weakly.

"This will be the last time. I promise." He replied.

"Did you kill Cenred?" I asked.

"No. He and some of his men escaped, but Camelot is ours." He answered.

"And Morgana?" I asked.

"We didn't see her." He replied. "Have you seen my Father?"

"No. Not since Cenred attacked." I replied.

"Sire!" A voice called and a knight ran into the cell. "The King, sire…Morgana…" he panted and a look of dread filled Arthur's face.

"Go." I said to him and after passing me over to Percival he ran from the cell with Merlin.

"What took you so long?" I asked Percival.

"We took the scenic route." He replied and I was glad I wasn't weak enough to laugh.

It wasn't long before the group was crowded around the King's chambers. There was a sadness in the air as we all stood or sat in silence. While Arthur and his men had retaken Camelot Morgana had killed Uther. This was all part of her plan. She'd sent Lamia to distract Arthur and his best nights, and while Camelot was without their prince, she attacked. I watched the Prince as he sat beside his Father with tears in his eyes. He knew what was to come next… The King was dead.

"By the power invested in me…" Geoffery of Monmoath boomed as the great hall watched on intensely. "…I crown you, Arthur, King of Camelot." He announced and placed the crown of Arthur's head as he knelt in front of the throne.

He stood and turned to face the hundreds of people watching him.

"Long live the King!" Leon called beside me.

"Long live the King!" I chanted along with the rest of the hall. "Long live the King!"


	28. Chapter 28

2 YEARS LATER

1 Week Ago

 _My Dear Sister,_

 _I hate to bother you when you're so busy keeping our kingdoms safe, but you must return home immediately. Father has sickened and our physician fears he does not have long for this world. You must return so we may spend his last days together as a family._

 _I love you._

 _Treila_

That was the letter I'd received a week ago, and now standing outside the pearly doors to the main hall in the castle, I'd never felt such a weight on my shoulders. I had returned to Ivistor four days ago and celebrated my Father's life with him and my sister. But now, he was gone and I was to take his place.

I looked down at my hand where I now wore the royal ring of Ivistor. With it's intricate Celtic designs I had always admired it, but now it was a symbol of those who had gone before me, and the future was daunting.

"You'll do wonderfully." My sister said beside me and took my hand.

"Only because I have you with me." I replied as the trumpets in the hall beyond the door sounded. The pearl doors opened as the fanfare continued. Treila and I walked together down the aisle, the long train on my royal blue gown trailing behind me.

When we reached the front of the hall, Treila stood beside the other royals in our family and on the opposite side of the hall stood King Arthur, with his knights behind him.

I knelt in front of the throne as the priest stood to address the hall.

"We are gathered here to bear witness to the naming of Princess Circa as the ruler of Ivistor. Are you willing to take the oath?" he asked.

"I am." I replied.

"Do you solemnly swear to govern the people of Ivistor, to uphold the laws and customs of the land?" he read from his parchment.

"I do." I answered.

"Will you, to your power cause law and justice in mercy to be executed in all your judgments?" He asked.

"I will." I said.

"Will you, to the utmost of your powers maintain the laws and customs of the land as your forebears did, and serve the people of Ivistor?" He read.

"I will." I promised.

"Then by the sacred laws vested in me, I crown you Circa, Queen of Ivistor!" He boomed, taking the intricate bronze crown from his server and placing it on my head. I stood from ground and walked up the two steps leading up to the thrown and turned to face the hall.

"Long live the Queen!" Shouted the priest.

"Long live the Queen!" The hall chorused back.

From outside the tall windows I could hear cheers from down in the courtyard below as the people gathered there heard the chorus.

"My Queen." The Priest smiled, gesturing with his hand to the stain glass window doors, that lead onto the balcony overlooking the courtyard. I walked over to them and as two guards opened the doors I was hit with a wave of noise. Looking over the white, stone railing I saw thousands of people gathered in the marble, jasmine covered courtyard waving streamers and cheering, all for me.

Treila came to join me and we put our arms around each other's waist and grinned from ear to ear as we waved down at the crowd.

That night, the hall was filled with laughter and joviality.

"You know I will have to return to Camelot soon." I said to Treila as we sat together at the head table.

"I know. And you know what that means? I've got the power." She laughed. And it was true, while I was still Queen, Treila would be granted emergency power while we continued our hunt for Morgana, Cenred and Morgause.

Further down the table I saw Arthur hitting his servant, Merlin, over the head with a spoon.

"Yes, well we leave in a few days, so I plan on celebrating till then." I laughed, turning my attention back to my sister as she poured me another glass of wine.


	29. Chapter 29

The next morning, an excited Treila shook me awake.

"What are you doing?" I mumbled, trying to push her away.

"Get up." She ordered.

"Why? The sun's not even up." I replied.

"Exactly." She said, pulling the covers off me. "Get your cloak, and follow me."

"Why?" I asked, pulling the covers back up.

"Just come on." She urged from the doorway as my cloak was thrown onto my

face.

I pushed my cloak away and looked out the open door. I groaned as I crawled out of bed, pulled my cloak over my underdress and left my chambers. Treila was waiting in the courtyard with two horses as the pre-dawn light cast a cool glow over the marble.

"Where are we going?" I asked, but got no reply as she climbed on, bareback, and rode out of the courtyard. I pulled myself onto my own horse and followed her out, into the rainforest. It didn't take long before I worked out where we were going, and soon we emerged onto the stretch of white sand, with the crystal clear ocean stretching to the horizon beyond.

"This, is what I wanted to show you." Treila said, as I joined her to sit on the cool sand as the tip of the sun poked it's head above the horizon. The sky glowed a beautiful mix of pinks and oranges.

"How could I forget." I replied, remembering back to all the years we used to come here to watch the sunrise and…

"You know what comes next." Treila said and I grinned at her, as we stood up and pulled off our cloaks, before running down to the water's edge in only our underdresses.

I dived under the water, and gasped at the coolness of the water. Together, we swam out to a large piece of rock, jutting out from the ocean floor. The rock was jagged, so had plenty of foot and hand holds to choose from, and we both pulled ourselves up, on top of it.

"Do you remember when we used to pretend we were mermaids?" I asked my sister.

"Yes, and you always insisted on having special powers." I added to which she laughed.

We chatted away as the sun rose higher in the sky, until our peacefulness was shattered when I remembered what today was.

"Oh my gosh! Today's the melee." I cried. "We've got to get back." I added, before diving off the rock and swimming back to the shore.

We grabbed our cloaks and leapt back onto our horses, laughing all the way back to the castle.

As we rode back into the courtyard, people were already milling around with plates of food piled high for breakfast. A couple of guards took out horses as we rushed inside to change out of our underdresses.

I pulled on a beautiful gown with sweeping sunset colours and had my hair done in an intricate braid, piled on top of my head. Today was my first official event as Queen and I wanted to make a good, lasting impression. The melee was to start this morning and it was open to anyone…and there were no rules…and it was usually carnage…but good-natured carnage nonetheless.

As I walked through the halls, people from all the lands were assembling in the courtyard, signing themselves up for the melee. I continued through the halls, but stopped when I heard a loud voice from the armoury.

"I don't care if you use your tongue. Clean 'em!" The voice yelled, and I walked to the doorway to see two burley men looming over the much smaller Merlin.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Nothing, Your Majesty." A bald man said, bowing his head.

"It didn't sound like nothing." I smiled pleasantly.

"I-I was just asking this young man to clean my boots." The man who'd been doing the yelling said as I noticed the whip in his hands. I then glanced at Merlin who was holding his knuckles, trying to hide the bloody gash across them.

"Well, by all means, let me." I said.

"Oh, no. Your Highness, please no." The man said nervously.

"Well we can't allow you to be unhappy with the state of your boots?" I replied, and walked over to a table where a cloth sat. "Please." I added, gesturing to a box. He hesitated and I glared at him. Reluctantly, he put his foot on the box and I leant down to clean his boots.

"There. Now you look respectable." I said, standing up.

"I don't know what to say, your majesty." He stammered.

"You can apologise to Merlin here and show him the same amount of respect you've shown me, do I make myself clear?" I asked warningly.

"Yes, your majesty. I'm sorry." He said and when I raised my eyebrows he swallowed and turned to Merlin. "I'm sorry." He said to him and Merlin did a terrible job at hiding his smugness. He was going to have to watch himself after that.

"Now leave." I demanded. "Merlin." I added and held the door open for him as we both left the armoury.

"I should mention that while the Melee is exciting and a cause for celebration, it is also open to anyone, not matter who they are. So, you may want to keep your head down, and I only tell you this because I know how bad you are at doing that." I smiled.

"Did anyone think this tournament through? A contest open to all comers to win a hundred gold coins. Hmm. I wonder what kind of people are going to turn up?" He said, as we were joined by Arthur.

"It's tradition, Merlin. The tournament's been held every year there's a new ruler in Ivistor. It's been the same for centuries." Arthur said, placing a hand on my back and I let mine rest on his chest.

"Oh, I'm impressed. You've been reading up." I replied with a smile.

"Of course." He smiled proudly and offered me his arm. "You look beautiful." He added and there was a snort from Merlin.

"Merlin, was that you?" Arthur asked, stopping and looking over his shoulder.

"What? No…It was a horse." He replied.

"Merlin. There aren't any horses here." Arthur said, and Merlin thought for a moment before leaving.

I looked back at Arthur who had a cheesy grin on his face.

"What's that look for?" I asked, resting my forearms on his shoulders and linking my finger behind his head.

"I just feel incredibly happy today." He grinned.

"And why is that?" I asked.

"Oh, you know. Birds are singing, sun is shining…I have a beautiful lady in front of me." He replied, lopping his arms around my waist and pulling me into him. He tilted his head and pressed his lips against mine, tightening his grip around my waist. I held my palm against the back of his neck, trailing my fingers into his hair. When I heard a door close in the distance I pulled back.

While everyone knew about our relationship, it wasn't proper to show it. I took Arthur's arm as we walked down to the arena were the tournament was about to begin.

"You're not going to wish me good luck?" He asked as we parted ways.

"Do I need to?" I asked. As if he needed luck to win.

"Well, it doesn't hurt." He replied, and I smiled before walking back to him and kissing him on the cheek.

"Good luck." I said.

"I don't need luck." He shrugged before walking into the arena as I looked incredulously after him. But, before he disappeared, he looked over his shoulder and grinned. I smiled to myself before making my way to the stands where I stepped up onto the platform where two thrones were sitting.

"Finally." Treila sighed, getting up from her place as I faced the contenders, waiting eagerly for the contest to begin.

"It's my pleasure to welcome you all to Ivistor. This is a contest like no other. It is open to all comers, there are no rules, and no weapons are band. The last man standing takes the prize. Let the tournament begin!" I announced and the crowds in the stands cheered.


	30. Chapter 30

The first tournament was between a man simple man in brown clothes and a masked fighter with two, curved swords. The simple man had a half shaved head, with hair only down the middle of his head, tanned skin and piercing, green eyes. He wielded an axe, and was very skilled with it, defeating his masked opponent in only a minute.

He turned to the cheering crowd and bowed, before marching out of the arena. The next few battles were uneventful and showed their victors easily. Gwaine and Percival ended up facing each other and made it more into a comedy than a fight, with each making equal fools of himself to the delight of the crowd.

After a few more battles, King Arthur took to the arena to the screams of the crowd and faced off against a giant of a man. However big the man may have been, he was slow and Arthur easily weaved and dodged around him.

By the end of the day, only half of the contenders remained, including Percival, Arthur and the mysterious man. To celebrate the half way point of the contest, a feast was held for all the remaining contenders, and it was customary for them to bring a gift for the new ruler of Ivistor.

"Thank you very much. It's beautiful." I said to a young man who handed me a fist-sized, hand carved robin, made out of red wood.

The last contender in the line was the simple man, who bowed deeply.

"Your Majesty." He said in a rough voice.

"Tell me. What is your name?" I asked.

"Thomas, My Lady." He replied.

"You are a skilled fighter, Thomas." I replied.

"Thank you, My Lady." He replied and pulled out a silver bracelet with an orange jewel in the center. "If I may." He said, and I hesitated before holding out my hand, and he clipped the bracelet around my wrist.

"It's beautiful. Thank you." I said, admiring how the jewel shone.

"It's my pleasure, Your Highness." He replied before bowing deeply and departing.

"Strange character." Treila said, sidling over as we watched the man go, and I stifled a yawn.

"I feel awfully tired all of a sudden." I said, sleepily.

"But the sun has still not set." Treila laughed.

"I know…Do you think anyone would mind if I retired?" I asked.

"I doubt it. Everyone's on their last drinks." She replied and after a quick hug, I trudged up to my chambers, and immediately fell into bed, fast asleep.

As I slept, I dreamt of swimming horses wearing orange bracelets. I stood on the shore and watched as one of the horses emerged from the ocean and walked over to me.

"My Lady." It said.

"Yes." I replied.

"My Lady, My Lady." It said again, more urgently this time.

"What?" I asked irritably as the horse continued calling me, only this time in Gwen's voice. I opened my eyes to see Gwen standing over me, shaking my shoulders.

"My Lady." She said again.

"Yes. I'm awake." I replied, holding up my hands.

"Sorry." Gwen said, stepping back. "It's nearly midday, and you're still changed

form yesterday. Jewelry and all."

"Oh, am I?" I asked sleepily and sat up. "Uh, so tired." I muttered to myself.

"How can you be, My Lady? You retired so early yesterday." Gwen replied, pulling me up and pushing me behind the screen to change.

I wandered blearily down the halls towards the arena for the second and final day of competition, all the while trying to stay focused on putting one foot in front of the other. I couldn't work out why I was still exhausted. I'd had plenty of sleep, yet all I wanted to do was to fall back into bed.

I sat down next to Treila in the stadium and she had to do a double take when she saw me.

"You look horrible." She said.

"Thank you." I replied absent mindedly.

"Are you alright?" She asked as I rested my elbow on the arm of the throne and lent my head against my hand.

"Just tired." I muttered.

I would have been lying if I said I watched the tournament closely. The whole day, Treila had to keep nudging me to stop me from falling asleep, and the times I was awake I didn't notice Thomas standing in the crowd watching me struggling to stay conscious.

"It's the final." Treila said in my ear and I looked around blearily before my eyes finally focused on Arthur and Thomas standing in the arena.

For the first time all day, I managed to keep my eyes open for the whole fight. Both Thomas and Arthur were relentless in their attacks, but finally, Arthur had Thomas on his back with his sword pointed at his chest.

When everyone thought it was over, Arthur's sword suddenly twisted in his hands and in the blink of an eye, his sword had transformed into a snake.

He dropped the snake in fright and stumbled back. Thomas reached his hand out to his abandoned sword, and as his eyes glowed yellow, the sword flew into his hand.

"He's using magic." Treila said.

"Well, he is allowed to." I replied as he pointed the tip of his sword at Arthur, who had no way of defending himself.

The crowd began to clap slowly, unsure of whether he was the victor, but when I applauded, they cheered.

"Congratulations." I said to Thomas. "It's been well earned." I added, gesturing to the box of gold coins.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." He replied, taking the box and bowing deeply. And with that, he left the arena.

That night, the victory celebration saw all the competitors, their friends and every member of the royal court lining the long tables in the hall, whose gold and marble pillars were adorned with bunting and flowers.

The loud voices and clinking of glasses rang loudly in my head as I took another sip of water, trying to cool my face.

"Are you alright?" Arthur asked beside me.

"Actually, I might get some fresh air." I replied, my voice wavering slightly.

"Do you want me to come?" He asked.

"No. I'll be fine." I replied and gently rose from my chair.

I made it only to the end of the table before the room started to spin. I reached out to grab the edge of the table and knocked over a few goblets in doing so.

"My lady?" Gwen cried, rushing over as Arthur also rose from his seat.

"I'm alright." I insisted, trying to clear my head. But even as the words left my mouth everything went a cloudy grey and I felt myself falling forwards as everything went black.


	31. Chapter 31

ARTHUR'S POV

The entire hall stood suddenly as Circa hit the stone floor. I leapt around the side of the table and knelt down beside Gwen who was already trying to tend to her.

"She's burning." Gwen said, feeling Circa's forehead.

"What happened?" I heard Merlin's voice ask as he and Gaius joined us.

"Gaius, what's wrong with her?" I asked.

"I don't know, Arthur. But we must get her away from the crowd." He replied.

So, with Gwen's help, I scooped her up, into my arms and carried her out of the hall and to her chambers where I gently placed her on the bed.

Gwen, Treila and I watched as Gaius examined Circa before turning to us.

"She seems to be suffering from severe exhaustion." He said.

"But that can't be. She slept for half the day yesterday." Treila replied.

"What's this?" Merlin piped up, pointing to a bangle on Circa's wrist.

"It was a gift from Thomas." Treila replied as Gaius examined the piece of jewelry before giving it a gentle tug.

"It won't budge." He said thoughtfully before holding up Circa's wrist to look at the orange stone embedded in the bangle.

"What is it?" Merlin asked.

"It is an Eye of the Phoenix." Gaius said gravely. "This is the work of very dark magic."

"What do you mean? What is it?" I asked.

"The Eye of the Phoenix, when enchanted, drains the life force of the wearer until…" Gaius trailed off.

"Until what?!" I asked, alarmed.

"Until they die." He replied hesitantly.

"And what must be done?" I asked. "Whatever it is, I'll do it."

"The Phoenix was created with powerful magic, so they only way to counteract it, is also with magic." Gaius replied.

"And if magic can't be used?" I asked.

"Then, I'm afraid the Queen will die." He replied.

"No, I will not allow that." I declared and turned to Treila. "Circa said you've used magic. Can you help her?"

"No. All I'll do is change the colour of her hair or something." She sighed disheartened.

"Gaius, how long do we have?" I asked.

"I'm afraid, only a matter of hours." He replied.

"There must be someone in this kingdom who's a powerful sorcerer." I said to Treila.

"There are some, but they live far from here." She replied.

While I spoke with Treila, Gaius and Merlin were exchanging looks that seemed to be a part of some conversation silent conversation.

"She can not die. I won't let her." I said finally, out of suggestions and desperate.

"Arthur." Merlin said gently. "Do you trust me?"

"Now's not the time for sentimentality, Merlin. Of course I do." I replied, tiresomely.

"Good." Merlin said and turned to Circa. Suddenly, his eyes glowed yellow and he began muttering some incantation.

"Wh-what's happening? What are you doing?" I stammered, but no one paid any attention.

Instead they watched as Merlin waved his hand over the bracelet and the glowing orange stone in the center dulled. Merlin's eyes stopped glowing, and he stepped back, leaning against the wall exhausted. Gaius moved forward and held the bracelet, this time pulling it easily away from Circa's wrist.

As soon as she was free of it's magic, her face relaxed and she breathed deeply.

"Merlin. What…what did you just…" I began. "You have…"

"Yes. I have magic." He replied. "I was born with it."

"You lied to me. All this time." I cried.

"Arthur, Merlin has only ever used his magic for good. He's saved your life more times that you know." Gaius replied calmly.

"I don't want to hear it." I replied.

I didn't look at either of them and instead focused on Treila, who'd been by Circa's side the whole time, her hands clasped. Circa's eyes flickered and she sighed quietly as she opened her eyes.

"Circa." Treila whispered happily, and held her sister's face. "You're okay." She reassured her as Circa looked around the room, realizing she had an audience.

"What happened?" She asked faintly.

"That bracelet Thomas gave you. It had dark magic in it." Treila answered.

"But why would he…" Circa began.

"I believe the magic used was some of the darkest of it's kind. And only the most powerful sorceress' wield this power." Gaius said. "Thomas, was a mere pawn in someone else's plan."

"Morgana's?" I answered, more of a statement rather than a question and Gaius nodded.

"Why does she want you dead?" Treila asked her sister.

"She thinks I stand between her and the throne." Circa replied. "Why? I don't know….But…how did you get the bracelet off?"

"Well, it's a bit of a long story." Gwen said, and when Circa frowned, Treila continued.

"Merlin used his magic." She said and Circa's eyes shot between me and Merlin.

"Merlin…but…" She began. "You didn't have to do that..." She added, looking at me.

"You knew?" I asked incredulously. "Wh…Why didn't you tell me?"

"It wasn't my place to say." She replied earnestly and I knew, deep down, she was right. "But he's only ever used magic when it's absolutely necessary. He's saved all our lives countless times and I'm more than prepared to vouch for…" Circa explained but trailed off from exhaustion.

"It's alright." I interrupted. "We'll discuss it later."


	32. Chapter 32’

CIRCA'S POV

"Are you sure you'll be all right?" I asked Treila as I tightened the stirrup.

"Yes. We've already been over this four times. And that's just this morning." She replied.

We were standing in the courtyard as knights milled around, readying their horses for their journey back to Camelot.

"Okay, okay." I said, holding my hands up in defense and sighed. "Arthur's sent knights out after Thomas. Hopefully they'll be able to pick up Morgana's trail. And once this is all over, I'll come back."

I was heading back to Camelot to continue on our quest to bring Morgana, Morgause and Cenred to justice. While I was gone, Treila was to be acting Queen, which wasn't the most ideal situation, given I'd only just been crowned, but the people understood.

"Good luck. And look after yourself." Treila said, holding the reigns as I climbed into the saddle.

"You too. Being Queen is hard but…" I began but Treila interrupted.

"Oh, I can't wait. I was born to be Queen." She grinned, sticking her nose in the air as Arthur walked past. "How's Arthur doing? With Merlin, I mean."

"I think he's still processing it." I replied, watching as he tightened the stirrup on his horse.

"But his mind's mostly on Morgana. Lancelot, Elyan and Leon have been gone three days now. They caught up with Thomas and he didn't hesitate in giving up Morgana's location." I added.

"Well keep safe and promise me you'll write this time." Treila said before hugging me.

"I wrote last time." I replied.

"Once does not count." She crossed her arms.

"Bye, love." Gwaine said, coming up behind Treila and boldly kissing her on the cheek.

"Be careful, Gwaine. That's…" I began.

"I know. The Queen." He grinned.

"My sister." I corrected with an eyebrow raised.

I pulled my horse around and soon, the small party was leaving the gates of Ivistor. The first day's ride was done mostly in silence. The tension between Merlin and Arthur was obvious, and I spent most of the trip exchanging conversational looks between Percival and Gwaine.

"Don't worry, Merlin. He'll come round." I said to the young warlock after he'd tried and failed to speak with Arthur.

"I thought it would have been worse." He admitted.

"Well perhaps him seeing you use your magic for good softened the blow…I for one are very grateful you used magic." I smiled.


	33. Chapter 33

I awoke the next morning to hear excited chatter outside my door and down in the courtyard below. I slid out of bed and wandered over to window, where down below a line of carts and wagons were rolling into the courtyard.

I heard the door open behind me and a breathless Gwen leant against the frame as she shut the door.

"Good morning, Gwen." I said with a smile.

"I'm sorry, your majesty." She replied, catching her breath. "It's mental out there."

"Why?" I asked.

"…It's the King's birthday." She said, trying to hide her surprise that I'd forgotten.

"Oh my goodness." I breathed, clapping my hand over my mouth. "I have to get him something." I added as loud whoops and cheers came from the courtyard.

"And that's the circus for this feast tonight." Gwen added.

"Right." I said slowly. "I should get changed."

Half an hour later I was making my way down into the market place in a light, pink, flowing gown adorned with flowers and my hair hung in ringlets down my back. Everywhere I looked, people were waving flags and chatting happily, excited for the day of celebrations.

A stall selling beautiful sword belts caught my eye and I wandered over to inspect the long pieces of leather. As I looked over the different belts, the smell of fresh leather wafting around me, the woman behind the stall watched hopefully.

"These are beautiful." I said to her, which made her smile. "May I take this one?" I asked, holding up a mahogany coloured belt with a bronze buckle and fastenings.

"Of course, your majesty." She said humbly and gently took the belt from me, rolling it up and setting it down in a wooden box.

"Thank you." I said and passed her a handful of coins.

I made my way back up to the castle, dodging flaming torches and hula-hoops from the circus. The circus outside gave way to the circus inside. Servants were running about with streamers, while cooks were carrying crates of food above the crowds heads and attendants were rushing back and forth with shirts and dresses.

"What's that you've got there, your highness?" I heard the unmistakable voice of Gwaine drawl from the corridor I'd just passed.

"Nothing for you." I replied, looking over my shoulder to see him, Elyan and Percival standing near a window. 

"Wouldn't be something for the King, would it?" Percival asked. "It's late in the day. You didn't forget did you?" He asked in a teasing tone.

"Of course not." I replied calmly. I'd learnt over the years to be just as smooth as they were.

"Hmm. What would happen if we told Arthur you'd forgotten his birthday?" Elyan wondered.

"I could tell you exactly what would happen to you." I said warningly and decided to leave it at that. I disappeared back into the bustling crowd as the trio chuckled behind me.

It took me half an hour to get from one side of the castle to the other, there were that many people about. When I finally got to Arthur's chambers, I knocked on the door and waited for a reply.

"Come in." Arthur's voice called and I hid the box behind my back as I pushed open the door. Inside, Arthur sat at his desk, reading a scroll with great intensity and Merlin has his head stuck out the window, looking down into the courtyard where the circus was still entertaining it's enthralled audience.

"Circa." Arthur said as he looked up from his reading, a smile spreading across his face.

"Good morning." I replied, walking over to him, the box still behind my back.

"What do you have there?" He asked curiously, standing up to reach his hands behind my back to try and take what I held, but I leant away, so he decided to rest his hands on my waist.

"Oh, nothing much." I began. "Happy birthday." I smiled, and pulled out the box, handing it to him.

"You didn't have to." He said, pulling off the lid, his expression changing to amazement as he pulled out the belt. "Wow. Thank you."

"You're very welcome." I smiled, before kissing him.

"Oh! Did you see that?!" Merlin yelled from the window and Arthur pulled back, rolling his eyes as his manservant ruined the moment.

I couldn't help myself, heading to the window to see what Merlin was watching. Two acrobats had started doing flips and tricks in the courtyard and the crowd cheered.

"Merlin, it's a man rolling about on the ground." Arthur said.

"But it's amazing!" I replied placyfully, looking back to face him.

"What's wrong? It's your birthday. There's going to be a huge feast in your honor. There are dancers, acrobats and jugglers to entertain _you_ …Come to think of it, it must be a terrible burden." Merlin said.

"Perhaps it's because I'm not as easily impressed as you." Arthur said, walking over to the table.

"I think it's great." Merlin shrugged.

"That's because you have the mind of a child." Arthur said.

"And yet I'm still more intelligent than you." Merlin added quietly.

That night, Gwen and I made our way down to the great hall where everyone was gathering for the feast. I had changed into a dark blue gown adorned with tiny crystals and my crown sat atop my hair, which Gwen had skillfully piled on top of my head in a beautiful bun.

All the knights were in their freshly polished armour curtsey of Merlin and all the staff had on their dress robes, each one depending on their household positions. Everyone in the hall turned their attention to the large, oak doors as trumpets sounded, announcing the arrival of the King. The doors opened and Arthur walked in wearing a brown, leather coat, his red cape with Camelot's crest on either side and the simple, gold, circlet crown.

Once we'd all taken our places the circus entered the hall and provided their audience with a breathtaking show of skill and tricks.

"For our final trick I require a volunteer." The ringmaster said to the crowd, before setting his eyes on Arthur. "My Lord, what better way to demonstrate your legendary bravery."

Arthur looked round the room and then, coming to his decision stood, his arms wide. "Of course." He nodded and unclipped his cape, pressing a kiss to my cheek as he leapt past.

'Someone's enjoying the wine.' I thought as Arthur bowed to the cheering hall.

"If you would." The ringmaster said and motioned to a large wheel behind me. Arthur stepped up and held onto the handles as two acrobats tied his hands and ankles to the wheel.

The ringmaster pulled out three, small knives and an apple.

"Do not fear, my Lord. I never miss." The ringmaster assured him.

"I'm glad to hear it. I…" Arthur was stopped when the apple was pushed into his mouth. The ringmaster waved to the acrobats, who began to spin the wheel and Arthur began to turn in circles.

The ringmaster held up the first knife and threw it at the wheel. It impaled itself a few inches from the left side of Arthur's head and the hall gasped in amazement. The second knife went flying through the air and landed on Arthur's ride side and the hall applauded.

Finally, the ringmaster held the third knife up and showed it to the crowd. He then turned and threw it without looking at his target. The was a loud crunching and squishing noise as the knife hit it's target. My breath caught in my throat as Arthur stopped spinning. I let out my breath as I saw the knife sticking out of the apple. The hall erupted into cheers as Arthur's head hit the back of the wheel in relief.

Arthur stumbled off the wheel and bowed dramatically as his knights 'whooped' and cheered.

"You were worried." Arthur grinned, sitting back down next to me.

"Not one bit." I replied unenthusiastically.

"Right." He nodded with a smirk and then pressed another kiss to my jaw.

The rest of the feast went off without a hitch and everyone reveled in the good food and drink. As the night pressed on, people began disappearing from the hall, heading to bed after the long day. The knights had become rowdy with the seemingly high evaporation rate at their table, and Arthur had wandered over to join them. Gwen and Merlin had been on their feet all night, and I insisted they sit down in the empty seats and we chatted for a while until it was just us, Arthur and the knights in the hall.

"You don't have to stay, you know." I said to the pair who were trying to stifle yawns.

"Arthur might need me." Merlin said.

"He might, but if you really want to go, I can order you to leave." I smiled.

"Well, if Merlin won't, I'll take you up on your offer and will bid you goodnight." Gwen said.

"And will Lancelot be walking you home?" I asked, not missing a beat.

"What do you mean?" She asked, her slight alarm giving her away. I raised my eyebrows and she sighed. "Perhaps. I don't know."

"Okay. Well, goodnight Gwen." I said, not pressing the subject.

As she left the hall I stared meaningfully at Lancelot who watched her leave before looking to where she'd come from. He saw me looking and I nodded my head towards the door with a meaningful glare. He gave a small nod and got up, following Gwen out the door.

"I will retire too." I said to Merlin who nodded and sat back in his seat.

I walked over to the cheerful knights and bent down to kiss Arthur on the cheek.

"Good night. Happy Birthday." I said to him and smiled at the others before heading for the door.

"Circa." Arthur called behind me as I walked into the hall. I turned around as he closed the door behind him.

He didn't say anything. Except, he walked forwards and kissed me. He held my face in his hands and pulled me closer to him, a contented hum reverberating in his throat. He kissed my cheek and then my jaw.

I smiled at him as I gently pushed him back.

"What?" He asked.

This wasn't the time or place.

"Go back inside. Enjoy the party. And I'll see you tomorrow." I replied, and kissed his cheek, stroking his face with my thumb before heading down the corridor. I wasn't as big a fan of wine as Arthur was, and I was more than happy to go to bed.


	34. Chapter 34

The next morning I woke to a beautiful floral smell. Jasmine. Jasmine mixed with the gentle scent of Baby's Breath. My mother's favourite. The scent in the warm air made memories of long Summers in Ivistor come flooding back. I opened my eyes and was amazed to see my chambers filled with roughly thirty vases of white flowers.

I got out of bed and looked in awe around the covered room. I then noticed something lying on the long table. It was a simple yellow gown with capped sleeves and a tiered skirt with silver detailing on every tier and around the bodice. Next to it was a note. It read:

 _Dearest Circa,_

 _I hope you like the flowers. I had Gwen make this gown for you to wear. Meet me in the courtyard when you wake. And bring your riding gloves._

 _Arthur_

I set down the note and held up the gown, the silver thread shining in the light. I put it on and knotted my hair into a braided crown before grabbing my riding gloves and skipping down the corridor. When I reached the stone steps leading down into the courtyard I saw Arthur readying two horses with help from Merlin, who glanced up and nudged Arthur when he saw me.

Arthur turned around and grinned with what seemed like pride as I descended the steps.

"Good morning." He said with a smile.

"Good morning." I replied curiously.

"What's all this?" I asked, gesturing to the horses.

"I just thought a breakfast picnic would be nice." He replied. "You look lovely, by the way."

"You are full of surprises, Arthur Pendragon." I said thoughtfully.

"I'm glad I'm not becoming predictable." He grinned. "Shall we?"

I climbed up into the saddle and together, we walked our horses out of the courtyard.

"No Merlin today." I noted as we left the gates of Camelot.

"I'll continue to surprise you and say that there are some things I can do without him." Arthur replied.

When rode through the forest, who's thick canopy acted as a cool shield against the warm sun and soon we reached a clearing at the edge of a still lake.

"Oh, it's beautiful." I marveled, sliding off my horse.

I pulled off my gloves and walked closer to the edge of the lake, the water so clear I was sure you'd be able to see for miles underwater.

"Join me." Arthur said and I looked over my shoulder to see he's laid out a tasseled mat and was beginning to empty the contents of the basket.

I walked over and sat beside him. There was a lavish breakfast of bread, fruit and cheese, followed by a range of small cakes. We chatted about this and that before deciding to stretch out legs. Arthur took my hand as we walked down to the water's edge and drank in the beautiful scenery.

Beside me, Arthur sighed and turned to face me, taking both my hands in his.

"Circa, I wanted to say thank you for sacrificing so much to protect Camelot. Morgana…was never your burden to bear, and yet you have bore it for three years. You are an amazing, beautiful, smart…testing woman. You make me a better man and there is no measure for how deep my love is for you. And I would be honored if you would become my wife." He said and knelt down, pulling a small box from his pocket. He pulled back the lid and presented to me, a silver band with three small diamonds inlaid across the top.

"Yes! Yes I will." I cried and threw my arms around his neck. I didn't let go as he stood up and lifted me off the ground. When he put me back down, I let go and he took my hand, sliding the ring onto my finger. "I love you."

"Thank you all for coming. You are, no doubt, wondering why I have gathered you here today." Arthur said to the crowd amassed in the throne room back at the castle. The council was there, the knights, and other people of notable authority, though I never knew their names. "Though we live in dark times, today I bring you light, and love." Arthur said, taking my hand in his. "It gives me the greatest pleasure to announce that I am to marry Queen Circa of Ivistor, uniting the kingdoms in the strongest unions of all."

The crowded room clapped and smiled. I saw Merlin nodding enthusiastically at Arthur as Lancelot had to stop Gwaine from whistling. However, the joyous moment was cut short when Sir Leon stepped forward.

"I am sorry to ruin the celebration your highnesses, but I have news from our scouts." He said. "They've found Morgana."


	35. Chapter 35

"We caught up with her on the plains of Denaria." Elyan said, standing beside Leon in the thrown room.

"Was she alone?" Arthur asked.

"Morgause was with her." Leon answered.

"Where was she headed?" I asked.

"The Seas of Meredor." He replied.

"The Isle of the Blessed? What could she possibly want there?" I wandered.

"Sahmain is approaching." Gaius suggested.

"What is Samhain?" I asked.

"It's a time when we feel closest to our ancestors. When the veil between worlds is thinnest." He answered.

I was about to ask what this could mean for Morgana, but suddenly beside Gaius, Merlin went rigid and collapsed onto the stone floor. Lancelot rushed forward and Gaius knelt down beside him.

"What happened?" Lancelot asked.

"I'm not sure." Gaius replied, feeling Merlin's forehead. "I've never felt anyone so cold. I'll need hawthorn to improve the blood flow. Bring him to my chambers."

"I saw a woman. Her eyes were…so full of sadness and pain." Merlin said.

Arthur, Lancelot, Gaius and I were all standing in Gaius' chambers. As soon as Merlin had woken he'd started babbling about a woman he'd seen in the middle of the hall, which nobody else had.

"Who is she?" Arthur asked.

"The Cailleach. The gatekeeper to the spirit world." Gaius replied.

"Why was she there?" Merlin asked.

"I said Samhain was approaching, the very moment when the veil between the worlds is at it's thinnest. It cannot be a coincidence." He replied.

"And only Merlin could see her because he has magic." I surmised and Gaius nodded. "So, what does it mean?"

"I'm not sure." He said, shaking his head. "But if Morgana has torn the veil between the worlds, then may the gods help us all."

The room went quiet as Gaius' dooming words set in, the silence only shattered by the door opening.

"Excuse me, sire." Leon said, appearing from the corridor. "But you're needed in the council chambers as a matter of urgency."

We followed Leon through the corridors and into the throne room where a group had formed around a young girl who was sobbing.

"What happened?" I asked Percival as he turned to face us.

"Her village was attacked." He replied.

"By who?" Arthur asked.

"We don't know yet." He shrugged.

Arthur pushed his way through the circle and stopped in front of the frightened girl.

"Who attacked your village?" He asked.

She didn't look up and continued to sob, so he tried again.

"Can you tell me what happened?" He asked, and still no answer.

"Here." I said, placing a hand on Arthur's arm, walking past him and kneeling down in front of the girl.

"What's your name?" I asked, looking up at her.

"D-Drea." She replied shakily.

"Drea, I'm Circa. Don't be afraid, we'll look after you." I said, putting a gentle hand on her arm. She looked down at me and I gave her a warm smile. "Can you tell me what happened? Did someone attack your village?"

"There was no one…just shapes…they…they had no faces." She said quietly, in between shaky breaths. Those who had gathered, gave each other skeptical looks.

"I keep telling you…they were there, but…they weren't there." Drea tried. "They moved so quickly. It was if they weren't real, but… they must have been…They were all…dead." She finished and burst into tears again, wrapping her arms around me neck. Two of the noblemen stepped forward, to pull her away, but I held up my hand to stop them.

"You were very brave to come here, Drea." I said in her ear. "Where is your village?"

"Howden." She choked.

"Howden." I repeated to Arthur.

"East of the White Mountains. No more than half a day's ride." Gwaine added.

"Ready the men." Arthur said to him, looking down at us. "We ride out immediately."

I stayed behind to look after Drea as the others rode for Howden.

"Is she asleep?" I asked Gwen as she quietly closed the door to my chambers behind her.

"Yes. Poor thing. She's lost everyone." Gwen replied.

"She has an aunt and uncle in a nearby village. They're sure to take care of her." I said.

"What do you think she saw?" Gwen asked. I opened my mouth to reply but stopped when there was the sound of a distant, echoing scream.

"What was that?" I said. Then the scream came again, a deathly screech that chilled you right to the core. It seemed to be closer this time and I looked around, trying to work out where it was coming from.

"Look out!" Gwen squeaked and threw herself at me as a loud scream passed by my head. She grabbed my shoulders and pushed me onto the ground. As we sprawled on the stone floor, I looked up just in time to see what looked like a ghost swoop out the window at the end of the hall.

"Oh, di-id you see that?" I asked, breathing heavily.

"It looked like…" Gwen began.

"A ghost." I finished as another scream came from further away.

Suddenly, Camelot's bells began to ring out and shouts came from the depths of the castle.

"Let's go." I said to Gwen and together we ran down to the entrance of the castle where townsfolk were running towards the citadel. They had torches in their hands and carried bundled blankets under their arms.

"Oh my goodness." Gwen breathed, and I followed her gaze up to the darkening sky to see 'ghosts' filling the sky, swooping the people. I watched as one swooped on an elderly man, who went froze and fell to the ground. I rushed forward and turned the man over.

I gasped and leapt back at the sight. The man had gone white and icicles clung to his scraggly beard.

"Use the fire!" A villager yelled at me as they rushed past, dissipating a 'ghost' by waving their flaming torch at it.

"My lady, we have to get back inside." Gwen urged, taking my arm and pulling me back towards the castle. Inside, knights and guards ran past with stretchers and torches.

"We have to provide shelter to all those we can." I said above the cacophony of the crowds.

For the next few hours, I ran back and forth, handing out blankets for those who had been struck by the 'ghosts', scrounging for more torches and every last candle stick I could find.

I turned a corner and ran straight into someone.

"Sorry." I said, looking up at them. "Arthur!"

"Circa!" He cried and wrapped his arms around me. "Are you alright?"

" _I_ am. I can't speak for everyone, though." I replied. "We've closed every window and door, which has stopped most of them, but they can still get in."

"We need to find Gaius. Find out what these are and how to destroy them." He replied. We pushed our way through the castle, eventually finding Gaius in an empty room at the base of the castle.


	36. Chapter 36

"Gaius! What are these things?" Arthur asked as we skidded to a halt in the entrance to the makeshift hospital.

"They're Dorocha, sire. The spirits of the dead. On Samhain's Eve in the time of the Old Religion, the high priestesses would perform a blood sacrifice and release them." The old physician replied.

"It was Morgana and Morgause." I guessed.

"They _were_ heading to the Isle of the Blessed." Gaius nodded.

"So, how do we defeat them?" Arthur asked.

"I don't know, sire. No mortal has ever survived their touch." Gaius replied as Merlin appeared in the doorway.

"Merlin! You look like you've seen a g…Never mind." I finished, catching myself before I've finished the sentence.

"My magic doesn't work against them." Merlin said, his face white and I looked worriedly at Arthur.

That night Arthur and I were sitting on the sofa, in front of the open fire in his chambers. There were candles everywhere to keep the Dorocha at bay and fire was good against the cold.

A chilling breeze squeezed it's way under one of the locked windows and I shivered. Arthur set down his glass and put his arm around me, pulling me closer against him.

I felt his chest rise as if he were about to say something, but he froze as a scream came from the far window and a blast of freezing air blew my hair forwards.

"You heard that, right?" Arthur asked and I nodded.

We both stood up and turned to face the curtain, which was swaying in a non-existent breeze. Arthur picked up his sword from the table and started towards the curtain, with me close behind him.

After a moments hesitation, Arthur used his sword to whip the curtain aside, but there was nothing.

"It's alright." Arthur said, telling himself as much as me.

"You're not scared?" I asked.

"I am, Circa. Maybe more so than you." He replied and then turned to me. "Stay here tonight. Keep each other company."

The thought of being alone in my huge, gusty chambers was not appealing, so I nodded.

"I'll take the sofa." Arthur finished.

The next morning, the council was crowded round the large table, stepping carefully over piles of blankets and medical supplies.

"There must be some way to vanquish these creatures." Godfrey said.

"I fear the Dorocha cannot be defeated by swords and arrows, sire. If ia am right, and the veil between the worlds has torn, then there's only one path open to us. To travel to the Isle of the Blessed and repair it." Gaius replied.

"And how do I do that?" Arthur asked.

"I'm not sure. But for the tear to be created, it would've required a blood sacrifice. To seal it will require another." Gaius replied.

"We ride before nightfall." Arthur declared.

"And who will be the sacrifice?" Gaius asked.

"If laying down my life will spare the people of Camelot, then that is what I must do." He replied.

"We will find another way. Let's not make rash decisions now. We must be careful." I said, and the councilmen nodded.

As the afternoon stretched on, the knights readied themselves to ride and I sat at the mirror in the chambers while Gwen knotted my hair into a long braid.

As I placed my brown, leather gloves, I caught sight of a box I hadn't thought about in a long time. I reached for it and set it on my knees.

"What is it?" Gwen asked as I opened the box.

I stood up and pulled out a long, royal blue cloak with the gold crest of Ivistor stitched into either side.

"It was my Mother's." I said. "I am yet to wear it."

I pulled it around my shoulders and fastened the gold clasp across my shoulders.

"You look amazing." Gwen gasped in awe.

"I look like my Mother." I said distantly.

"She'd be so proud." Gwen smiled.

"Thank you, Gwen….I must go." I decided and grabbed my gloves off the table.

"Take care, my lady." Gwen said.

"And the same to you, dear Gwen." I replied and left my chambers.

I pulled my riding gloves under the sleeves of my white blouse, which was tucked into a pair of brown pair. Long, black boots covered most of my shins and my gleaming bronze belt held my sword. My Mother's cloak billowed out behind me as I descended the steps to where a stable hand was waiting with my horse, below.

"Circa. I really don't think…" Arthur began, taking the reigns from the stableboy.

"Good, because it's time to go." I interrupted, pulling myself up, into the saddle. "And the sooner we go, the sooner we come back." I finished, and with that our party road out of Camelot towards the Isle of the Blessed.


	37. Chapter 37

We rode without stopping for hours. Arthur was determined to make the Isle of the Blessed before nightfall.

"Can you hear that?" Gwaine asked, as we rode through yet another endless valley.

"Bees." Leon replied as the buzzing noise reached my ears.

"Means food." Gwaine replied and dismounted, letting his horse walk on as he climbed up the side of the valley to a large bees nest, stuck against a tree.

"Are you trying to get us killed?" Leon asked, as Gwaine eased his hand into the nest.

"We're riding to our death anyway." He shrugged.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." I called back to the headstrong knight.

"Why not?" He called back.

He soon got his answer. There was a strangled cry from behind us, and I turned in my saddle to see Gwaine leaping down the side of the valley, swatting away a very angry swarm of bees.

"You're quiet." I said to Arthur as Gwaine defeated his last bee.

"That's what happens after three days of listening to Gwaine." He replied.

"Do not lose hope, Arthur. I know what you're thinking, and don't try and tell me it's okay. We will think of something that gets everyone home. Okay?" I said sternly.

He nodded but I wasn't convinced.

The next time we dismounted was when we reached the crossing to the island. The horses were left behind and the ferryman sailed us across the murky water to the crumbling castle sat high on the tiny piece of land.

"Pair off. Find any wood you can. Get the fires burning." Arthur said, breaking the silence that had fallen over the group.

Gwaine and I headed into the dusty castle with one torch between us. It wasn't long before we came across a large hall with floorboards so old that they had collapsed in the center of the room, creating a deep chasm.

"So, what are your intentions towards my sister?" I asked, picking up a handful of old flooring.

"You're really asking that now, Your Highness?" Gwaine replied.

"It's a better time as any. Besides, keeps the mind of the ghosties." I taunted.

"She's a beautiful woman in both appearance and heart." He sighed. "And I assure you, my intentions are strictly honorable."

"I never doubted you for a second, Gwaine." I said honestly. "She's very fond of you."

"Is she really?" He asked.

"Oh, yes. Never shuts up about your really." I replied, lightening the mood. However, the laughter was short lived as a chilling scream made the floorboards hum. Out of the chasm shot a Dorocha, sailing high into the ceiling.

"Run!" Gwaine yelled.

I didn't need telling twice. We turned and bolted out of the room, back towards the central courtyard where Merlin had already started a small fire.

"Get behind me." Arthur ordered as he picked a long stick out of the fire and waved it at the screaming Dorocha.

The next moment, the screams were just a ringing in my ears, and then there was silence.

"This won't get us through the night." Percival said, looking down at the wood.

"It'll be enough to keep them at bay." Arthur replied.

Gradually, the knights took their places around the fire, welcoming the warmth against the cold air.

The veil was somewhere on this island. Tomorrow we would find it and seal it, but whom would we return without?

"Has something died?" Elyan asked as I sat down next to Percival and Leon.

"Why am I always the butt?" Gwaine replied and I looked over to see him taking off his socks.

"Can't think." Lancelot replied sarcastically as he got up to wedge himself beside me.

"Pick on Percival." Gwaine suggested.

"Why me?" Percival replied.

"He washes." Elyan added.

"And he doesn't set fire to his socks." Leon pointed out and Gwaine groaned as he whipped his flaming socks out of the fire.

I looked around the courtyard to see Arthur, still standing guard. There had been no more Dorocha and I decided he'd had enough time to brood.

"Seen anything?" I asked as I walked over to him, and as I guessed, he shook his head. I slipped my arm though his. "Do they know what we're going to face when we reach the veil?"

"The burden's mine and mine to bear alone." He replied.

"Well, in that you've failed fantastically. Because it's mine as well." I said, and he turned away from his staring to look down at me.

"Look around you, Arthur. Those knights, they would fight a thousand armies with their bare hands for you. We're never alone. We stand together…Come on. We'll all need our rest for tomorrow." I finished and held out my hand. Arthur hesitated before taking it, and I pulled him back to the camp.

"Let's get married as soon as we get back." I said. "There are a lot of uncertainties in life, but this is one thing I'm sure about."

"Okay." Arthur smiled. "We'll have to get another throne."

"Indeed. The one we have is lovely, but it is hard for one to appear dignified when their feet sit two inches above the ground." I replied.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey guys!**

 **I'm so sorry about the lack of chapters recently. Unfortunately, my USB with all my FanFictions, Uni work (and pretty much everything else) decided to erase everything. So, I lost the remainder of this story.**

 **I'm gonna try and re-write it over the next few days, so hopefully the chapters will be more frequent again.**

 **I'm so sorry again and thank you for sticking with me.**

 **Best wishes,**

 **Amy xx**


	38. Chapter 38

The next morning I was awakened by a loud screech. At first I thought it was the Dorocha, but then I realised it sounded different. A large shadow passed overhead and I looked to the sky to see five small dragons circling overhead.

"What are those?" Leon said groggily, clambering to his feet, his sword in hand.

"I really hope I'm wrong, but are those Wyvern?" Gwaine asked, readying his sword.

"We need to keep moving." Arthur yelled.

"Sire, you must go on. We'll fend them off!" Leon yelled as the knights readied themselves against the Wyvern.

Arthur, Merlin and I reluctantly left them and ducked inside the castle. Now we had to find the veil.

It didn't end up being as hard as I expected. After a while we realised that the air was colder in places, so we just followed the freezing air to the center of the castle.

The sight that met our eyes was extraordinary. In the center of a huge hall, whose roof had caved in decades ago, hung a long black scar, which shimmered and hissed with silver light.

In front of the veil stood an old woman, dressed in a tattered black robe.

"It is not often we have visitors. I am the Cailleach." She said, her voice sounding like a whisper.

"Put an end to this. I demand you heal the tear between the two worlds." Arthur demanded, raising his sword to the old woman, who looked less than impressed.

"It is not I who created this horror." She snapped. "Why should it be I that stops it?"

"Because innocent people are dying." I said.

"Indeed." The Cailleach laughed.

"I know what you want." Arthur said, stepping forward.

"Do you? And are you willing to let me have it?" The Cailleach asked.

"I am prepared to do what's necessary." Arthur nodded.

"Well, isn't that music to my ears." A singsong voice cooed from the shadows, and from behind one of the broken pillars emerged Morgana.

"Hello, dear brother."

"Morgana. What do you want?" Arthur growled.

"Why, she's only here to see the moment the crown becomes hers." Another voice taunted and Morgause appeared from the other side of the hall and I raised my sword.

"You really think those pathetic pieces of metal are any match against us?" She laughed. "Go on then. If you really think you can best me."

I took a breath and lunged at the witch. My blade cut through thin air as she dissipated, emerging again in front of the Callieach. I heard Morgana laughing behind me as Arthur charged at her.

"Come on, Your Highness." Morgause taunted and flicked her hand. A stinging pain shot across my cheek and I touched my fingers to a long, thin scar and pulled them away to see blood on my fingertips.

I knew this was going to be hopeless, but…then an idea popped into my head as I saw Morgause standing in front of the veil.

I ran forward and raised my sword, ready to strike. I flipped the sword in my hand and threw it like a spear at the witch. She laughed and dissipated. As I bore down on her, I looked around and spotted a ghostly form taking shape a meter from the veil. I launched myself at the figure and as Morgause appeared in full, we sprawled on the ground. I landed on my back and immediately lifted my hands to grab her wrists, preventing her form thrusting a thin blade into my chest.

Her eyes glowed yellow and it became almost impossible to hold her off.

"Merlin." I groaned and thankfully he was there. I felt my muscles surge with strength and I pushed her back before lifting my leg and kicking her as hard as I could in the stomach. The strength Merlin had filled me with sent her flying backwards and she screamed as she was swallowed by the veil.

The Cailleach whirled around and watched as the veil flashed shut and disappeared from the room, leaving the space eerily silent. I looked back at the old woman, but she was gone.

"No!" A ear splitting scream came from behind me and I looked over my shoulder to see Morgana staring at the space Morgause had just disappeared.

Her eyes filled with hate as she looked at me. She raised her hand a sent a ball of fire towards me as she disappeared. I rolled out of the way and landed on my stomach.

I lay there for a while, getting my breath back and feeling exhausted as the extra strength left my body.

"Circa." Arthur panted, running over to me. He grabbed my waist and pulled me to my feet.

"You did it." He breathed, pulling me into him embrace.

"It's over." I sighed. "Now…let's get married."


	39. Chapter 39

"Alright. Give us a look." Treila said from living area of the small cottage at the bottom of Camelot's lower town.

Today, I was getting married. And to say I was nervous was an understatement. My sister and I had stayed in the cottage last night to take time to ourselves.

I stepped out into the living area and Treila's jaw his the floor.

"Oh my goodness... Circa, I'm speechless." She managed.

I tried and failed to hide a smile.

My ivory coloured dress was beautiful. It was made up of lace detailing with a thicker lace skirt trailing at the back. The bodice had a hole from my chest up to where it came together at my neck, creating an open area, which was very fashionable, according to Treila. The sleeves reached down to my elbows before falling away and trailing to the ground. My hair was pulled back into an intricate bun, adorned with small, white flowers, and on my head sat my rose gold and diamond crown of Ivistor.

In my hand I held a bouquet of white roses and baby's breath, tied with a white ribbon.

"I think I'm going to cry." Treila said.

"My lady. The carriage is here." Gwen said, appearing in the doorway.

"Okay. Let's go before I pass out." I laughed nervously and picked up my dress, walking out the door and carefully climbing into the carriage.

Treila and Gwen climbed in after me and sat on the opposite seat as the driver clicked the horses on.

As we got closer, the crowds began to grow and soon, there were people lining the streets on either side of the carriage waving flags and throwing confetti at the passing carriage.

When we reached the courtyard to the palace, I stepped out of the carriage and gave one more nervous wave to the crowd before ascending the steps to stop outside the large doors to the great hall.

There was no sound from inside, and I didn't know if that made me feel better or worse. Behind me, Treila smoothed out my gown and then stood by me, taking a big breath.

"You ready?" She asked.

"I think so." I smiled.

She gave me a quick hug before the trumpets sounded and the doors opened inwards, revealing a packed hall stretching down to the far end where Arthur stood in his full dress uniform facing the alter.

Treila went first and then I trailed behind her. As I walked down the aisle, people on either side curtseyed and bowed.

My sister took her place in the front row and I reached the alter, stopping beside Arthur who gave me a quick sideways glance.

"You look beautiful." He whispered and I grinned.

"My lords, ladies and gentlemen of Camelot, we are gathered here today to celebrate, by the ancient right of hand fasting, the union of Arthur Pendragon and Circa Ivistor." Geoffrey of Monmouth boomed from the front of the hall and I turned to face Arthur.

"Id it your wish, Arthur, to become one with this woman?" Geoffrey asked.

"It is." Arthur replied and smiled.

"Is it your wish, Circa, to become one with this man?" Geoffrey continued.

"It is." I said.

"Do any say nay?" The old man asked the crowd, and the room stayed silent.

"With this garland, I do tie a knot…" He continued, and I took Arthur's wrist as he took mine and Geoffrey tied a long wreath around our hands. "…and by doing so, bind your hands and your hearts for all eternity."

"I, Arthur Pendragon, King of Camelot, I shall not seek to change thee in any way. I shall respect thee as I respect myself." Arthur said, picking up a plain, gold ring off the pillow presented by Merlin and sliding it onto my finger.

"I, Circa Ivistor, Queen of Ivistor, shall not seek to change thee in any way. I shall respect thee as I respect myself." I echoed and then pushed the second ring onto Arthur's finger.

"By the rights of our ancestors and their ancestors before them, I now pronounce you to be husband and wife." Geoffrey finished and the hall erupted as the bells rang out. Over the tolls I could hear the cheers of the people in the courtyard below.

Geoffrey gestured to the door to the side of the hall that opened out on to a balcony, overlooking the courtyard.

Arthur took my hand and together we walked out to see the people waving and cheering below. They threw flowers, confetti, hats, anything they had on them and waved flags madly in the air.

"Shall we?" Arthur said in my ear and I nodded, a huge grin spreading across my face.

I linked my arms around his neck and he leant down, kissing me as the crowd cheered.


	40. Chapter 40

**3 Years Later**

"You're sure that's it?" Percival asked, shielding his eyes from the fast falling snow.

"It's the only thing for miles. It has to be." Gwaine replied, looking away from the tall, dark tower in the middle of the snowy hills.

"It is." I replied, pulling my cloak tighter around my shoulders against the cold. "Which means Morgana's inside."

We'd been tracking the witch for the past year and we'd located her in Ismere. Six weeks ago, I'd set out with Percival, Gwaine and five other knights to make sure she was there before Camelot mounted a full assault.

However, we'd had diffulcty coming this far, so instead of the two weeks we were supposed to be gone, it'd been a whole extra month.

"We have to be sure Morgana's in there." I said, squinting through the snow.

"It's too dangerous. We've been gone far too long." Percival began. "Arthur would have sent out multiple search parties and having found nothing, he'd assume we'd been captured and would have set out for Ismere immediately."

"Exactly, he's probably not far behind." Gwaine added.

"Alright. No need to start a mutiny." I muttered.

"Forgive us, Your Highness. We're not only protecting the Queen, we're protecting the next in line to the throne too." Gwaine said and looked down at my four month bump that had started to show.

"Don't remind me. Arthur will never let me out of Camelot again. He only 'allowed' me to go because I promised we'd be back in two weeks." I said, rolling my eyes.

I was about to continue, but I froze as a long howl echoed across the snowy mountains.

"I really hope that's not what I think it is." Gwaine said as we all turned to look over the hill behind us.

I rose slowly as three, grey wolves appeared on the crest and looked down at us.

"Slowly get up." I whispered. "Walk back down the hill. No sudden moves."

However, slowly didn't last very long as a hooded figure emerged amoung the wolves.

"Run!" I yelled as Morgana laughed.

We turned and sprinted down the snowy hill. It was hard going in the deep snow, but I was almost at the bottom. Suddenly, I was thrown forward by an invisible force and I fell onto the valley floor, the side of my head hitting a flat rock and everything went black.

When I came to, everything was dark, except for the faint glow of fire, coming from the torches out in a long dark hallway. I sat up and looked. I was in an empty, dark cell with one wall covered in bars, looking out onto the hallway.

"Your highness." Someone whispered from across the hall and I saw Gwaine and Pericval sitting in the cell across the hallway.

"I'm fine. Are you alright?" I asked, touching my fingers to where my head had hit the rock. Just above my eyebrow was a deep gash that had already started clotting.

"You!" A gruff voice came from further down the hallway and an incredibly ugly man walked, or rather wobbled, into the light. Never in my life had I seen such a large man.

"How dare you address your Queen like that." Gwaine growled but the man ignored him as he unlocked the door to my cell.

"Get up." I stared defiantly at the huge man. I wasn't going to let him intimidate me and I certainly wasn't going to stand for him.

Seeing I wasn't going to budge, he strode forward and wrapped his hand around my throat, lifting me with ease off the crowd and pushed me against the wall.

Percival and Gwiane shouted as they tried to push through the bars of the cell.

"You will do as I say." The man said and backed away. "Or I will start executing your knights."

"Come with me." He ordered and gestured to the door to the cell.

I wasn't going to risk the lives of my knights so I gave the man a distasteful look before walking out of my cell.


	41. Chapter 41

I was walked down the hallway and out into another, wider corridor with high windows, letting in the white light reflecting off the snow.

The large man stopped beside a solid wooden door and knocked three times. I didn't here a reply but he pulled open the door and gestured with his head for me to step inside.

I walked up to him and glared before looking inside the room. It was dimly lit with a long, low table surrounded by cushions and piled high with food and flowers. Sitting at the far end of the table was the silhouette of a man, but I couldn't make out his features.

As I gingerly stepped inside the dark room, the door was slammed shut behind me and I turned back to the hidden man.

"My apologies for him." The man said, standing up and coming into the light.

He had short, choppy brown hair, dark eyes and a tanned face. If it weren't for the circumstances, I might have said he was handsome.

"Please, join me for dinner." He said, his arms as wide as his smile.

"Why?" I asked.

"You are my guest here. And the Queen." He replied smoothly, and then picked up something from the side table. "Where I'm from, royalty wear this."

He held up an item of clothing. It was made of satin; had short sleeves and bodice that would finish at the top of my ribs. It had mesh down the stomach to where it joined with matching pants that came in at the ankles. It was orange and burgundy with green jewels hanging from the top.

"Would you be my guest and wear this for dinner?" He asked.

"I doubt I have much of a choice." I replied.

A few minutes later, I stepped out from behind a screen in the outfit, but didn't sit down.

"You are with child." The man noticed. "I am sorry."

"Then let us go." I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

"You know I can't do that." He replied with a smile.

"Do I?" I asked skeptically.

"Please, dine with me." He continued.

"I don't even know your name." I said.

"Ruvan." He replied, bowing deeply and extending his hand to me. I didn't take it, but walked over to the other side of the table and sat down, out of his reach.

"You are my guest and you shall be treated as such." Ruvan continued, and moved closer to me.

"You keep saying 'guest', but I am your prisoner." I said harshly.

"Do you know what we're doing here, Your Highness?" He asked, inching closer again and I leant away. "We're mining for a very precious stone that, whenever added to a liquid, grants the drinker control over whomever he speaks to."

"And what are you hoping to do with it?" I asked, not yet mentioning Morgana. I thought that maybe if I showed enough interest, Ruvan would be too busy showing off to realise that he spilled some secrets.

"Well, my dear." He began, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear and then snaking his hand round to the back of my neck, pulling out the pin that was holding my hair in place. The brown curls fell down my back and I thought I was going to be sick as Ruvan smiled greedily. "What do you think someone could do with thousands of men at their disposal?"

"Create an army." I said and he grinned.

"You're a smart one." He whispered.

"You aren't." I added and he frowned. "You're looking for the stone to create an army for Cenred and Morgana to use to overthrow Camelot."

I pulled away from him and leapt to my feet.

"You're just a pawn. What do you get out of it?" I asked.

"A night with the Queen." He hissed, and with a speed I didn't expect, Ruvan jumped to his feet and strode across the room. I backed away but he grabbed my face and pushed me against the wall, forcing his mouth against mine.

I tried to push him away, but he was much stronger. I reached for his face and tried to force him back, but in my frantic movement I scratched my nails down his face and he pulled away with a cry of pain.

I was shaking as I looked at his face. Down his left cheek were three angry, red scratches.

"You will pay for that, girl." He growled and advanced on me, as I tried to squeeze into a corner.

He grabbed my hair and pulled me towards the door, dragging me out into the corridor. At the end of the corridor was an archway into an old, crumbling throne room, and on the throne sat Morgana.

"Well, well." She mused, as Ruvan pushed me in front of her, still holding my hair so my head was forced back.

"She's with child, ma'am." Ruvan said.

"How careless." She 'tsked'. "We'll have fun with the little wretch later."

"She knows what we're up to." Ruvan admitted.

"How?" Morgana scowled.

"Because your boyfriend is stupid." I said. Since I'd been pregnant, I'd been terrible at thinking before speaking. Arthur decided to put it down to a side-effect so he wouldn't have to keep apologizing to people.

This was one of those times and my statement earned a yank on my hair and my head was pulled back even further.

"Really, Morgana. You'll have to pick your goons more carefully." I added as she stalked closer. When she was close enough, I leant into Ruvan and aimed a kick at Morgana's middle. It sent her crashing to the ground and I whipped my elbow back, connecting it with Ruvan's nose.

"Put her with the others." Morgana screamed and waved her hand at me as I backed away. An invisible force knocked me backwards and for the second time that afternoon, everything went black.


	42. Chapter 42

A loud metal chinking came to my ears and I became aware of the sound surrounding me. I also realised that I was lying on solid ground. I forced my eyes open. It took me a while to realise that I was looking up at a rocky ceiling, bathed in orange light from the fiery torches stuck in the walls.

"Your highness." A voice said beside me, and Percival's head appeared in my line of vision. He helped me sit up, and I looked around to see a maze of tunnels and caves stretching out in front of me, with a deep chasm in the center of the maze.

"Percival. What's going on? Where are the others?" I asked, watching hundreds of men driving pickaxes into the stone. It was hot down in the tunnels and they'd all abandoned their thick shirts. Unfortunately, I didn't have that luxury as I felt sweat roll down my neck.

"I've found all the knights. They're okay." Percival said, waving Gwaine over. "We're looking for something."

"A stone. You're looking for a stone." I said, rubbing my sore head. "It uses some kind of magic to control anyone who comes into contact with it."

"The men say Morgana's obsessed." Gwaine said.

"If she gets this stone she has an unwavering army." I nodded.

"Let's hope we don't succeed in finding it then." Percival said.

"We need to find a way to get out of here. If Arthur's on his way, they'll know about it…But we'll have to get everyone out. Not just our knights. They won't stop just because they lost a few men." I said.

"We can spread the word." Gwaine nodded.

I had no idea when or if night had fallen, because there was no sunlight. However, when guards marched through the tunnels telling everyone to stop work and sleep, I assumed it was late.

Guards patrolled the tunnels in lots of ten minutes. I'd been marking their times all afternoon, so was confident I could move around without being noticed. I slipped around the tunnels, finding knights and men who I let in on the escape plan. Percival and Gwaine did the same, but when I came back to them, a horrible sight met my eyes.

Percival was kneeling over Gwaine, who looked as though he'd been beaten. He had a large gash on his forehead and bloody marks all over his chest.

"What happened?" I asked, dropping down beside the knights.

"Ran into some guards." Gwaine grunted through a grin. "Don't worry, I still have my looks."

"Did you get to everyone?" I asked.

"Yes." Percival nodded. "They're ready to move at our signal."

"Good. Get some rest. You'll need your strength for tomorrow." I replied.

I stayed awake all night, not being able to sleep. I had Gwaine's head resting on my leg to stop the bloody gash from lying in the dirt. It was hot and I could feel the slimy sweat on my skin.

I dosed off just as the guards came round and banged their weapons loudly on the rocks, waking their workers.

Once everyone was up and moving, the guards appeared more relaxed and I knew this was our best shot.

I nodded at Percival, and he turned towards one of the guards, gradually inching closer until he was in range. He lifted his pickaxe and brought it down on the guard.

All hell broke lose. Men leapt into action, attacking any guard in sight as Percival called them forwards. I squeezed through the crowd until I was beside him and Gwaine at the front of the pack.

I pulled a flaming torch from the wall and lead them through the maze of tunnels. We moved silently, wary of anyone coming in the opposite direction.

"Can you smell that?" I asked.

"What?" Gwaine asked.

"The air isn't as stale." I answered. "We're heading in the right direction."

As soon as the words left my mouth, I saw the flicker of a shadow against the wall ahead of us and the sound of footfalls met my ears.

I pushed Percival and Gwaine back around the corner we'd just rounded and stomped out the flame from the torch.

I turned to the men and pressed my finger to my lips.

As everyone stood in complete silence, I raised the torch, ready to strike at the first person that came round the corner.

Thye got closer and I steadied my position. As the footfalls reached our corner, I stepped around the wall, swinging the torch as hard as I could at the person.

However, whoever it was, caught it deftly and ripped it from my hands.

I looked up in alarm at the man and my eyes widened.

"Circa!?" Arthur cried in shock.

"Arthur." I gasped in relief as he grabbed me and pulled me into his embrace.

"What are you doing? You're depriving me of a dashing rescue." He said.

"Sorry, the only one who saves me is me." I grinned.

"Come on. Let's get out of here." Arthur said, turning his knights around and we silently ran through the tunnels until a speck of light turned into the mouth of a cave.

"Oh, and by the way. You're not leaving the castle again." Arthur said.


	43. Chapter 43

The warm sun streamed through the stain glass windows of my chambers, but it wasn't the light that woke me. Hushed voices reached my ears and I slowly opened my eyes to see Arthur with his head stuck out of the heavy drapes surrounding the bed.

"Ssh!" Arthur hissed.

"What are you doing?" The voice I recognised as Merlin's asked.

"I'm gonna surprise her. Breakfast in bed." Arthur replied quickly and then disappeared further out of the drapes. "Wait! Where are you going?"

"You don't need me, do you?" Merlin asked indignantly.

"I can't very will get the breakfast, can I? What if she wakes up and…panics?" Arthur whispered and I only just managed to catch myself before I snorted with laughter.

"Panics!?" Merlin asked.

"Look, just, go and get it, alright?...Merlin, flowers. Don't forget the flowers." Arthur added.

"Of course, the personal touch. Nice." I heard Merlin whisper and then there was silence.

Arthur suddenly ducked back in from the drapes and I quickly shut my eyes, pretending to be asleep.

A few moments later, I felt the bed sink to the side as someone sat on the edge. Fingers brushed across my face and I slowly opened my eyes to see Arthur smiling down at me.

"Good morning, my Queen." He said.

"Arthur." I smiled. "Oh, that is so sweet." I added as he pulled out a silver platter with an elaborate breakfast piled on top of it.

"It's nothing." Arthur shrugged smugly as there was a loud crash from behind the drapes. "Who's there?" He demanded heroically as Merlin's head appeared between the drapes. "Merlin! What are you doing in the…royal chambers?"

"I thought I heard voices." Merlin blundered and I popped a small tomato in my mouth, wondering how this was about to unfold.

"Well, maybe next time you'll be good enough to knock." Arthur said and Merlin disappeared.

After breakfast, I got out of bed and wandered over to my dresser, glancing at myself in the mirror as I went.

"I must say…I won't miss looking like a small pumpkin." I said, looking at myself side on in the mirror.

"You will never look more beautiful than you do now, my dear." Arthur said, walking up to me and placing a hand on my growing stomach.

When I came out from behind the patrician, I had changed out of my nightgown and into a blue gown with thick straps and sleeves starting in line with the neckline, leaving my shoulders bare. It had a white floral pattern over the blue and my corset was done up loosely. My hair was pulled back in twists at the sides of my head and the rest hung down my back in curls.

"Merlin!" I heard Arthur shout as I stepped out.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I can't find my comb." He groaned, chucking something over his shoulder from the draw he was searching through.

"You've looked everywhere?" I asked, walking over to the drawer.

"Everywhere." He nodded, flopping down on the bed.

"What about under your nose?" I asked, picked up the comb from the top of the drawer.

"It must have been under something." Arthur said sourly as I stood in front of him, waving the comb.

"Really." I nodded.

"You just have this way of seeing things…" he began.

"They're called eyes." I said.

"Very beautiful they are too." He added, taking my waist and pulling me towards him.

"Don't try and change the subject." I said, putting one hand on his shoulder as the other pushed the comb through his hair.

"What subject?" Arthur asked.

"The subject of how hopeless you are at…" I began, but now it was his turn to interrupt.

"I am. I'm hopelessly in love." He grinned and pulled me against him, but before our lips could meet I pressed my fingertips against his lips. Arthur frowned and looked down disapprovingly.

"You need to prepare for this morning." I replied and pushed him backwards so he flopped onto the bed. He groaned in frustration as I dropped the comb on his chest.

Today, there would be a meeting in Camelot with all the rulers of the surrounding kingdoms. Hopefully, we would be ale to join together as one land to finally put a stop to Morgana's evil.

Somehow we managed to get our act together, and ten minutes later, I stood beside Arthur on the steps of the citadel, looking down into the courtyard as the long processions arrived.

First came King Odin with his beautiful daughter Mithian, then Queen Annis, and the King Cheltcroft in his abundance of tartans.

"My dear, Queen." He greeted with his thick accent as he bowed deeply. "A small gift for the young royal and their mother." He smiled, and pulled a small, square box out of his cape.

"It's very kind of you." I smiled and lifted the lid of the velvet box. Inside was a simple silver bangle, with Celtic patterns engraved around it. An identical bangle, about half the size sat in the middle of it's brother, just small enough to fit a tiny wrist. "It's beautiful. Thank you."

As he disappeared inside, there was a high-pitched shriek from down in the courtyard.

That could only be one person.

"Circa!" My sister squealed as she abandoned all etiquette and ran up the steps towards me. "Oh, I've missed you." She sighed, wrapping her arms around my neck.

"I've missed you too." I grinned, looking back at my little sister. "Come, we have much to discuss, and I don't just mean about the kingdoms."


	44. Chapter 44

When all the rulers of the five kingdoms had been seated, the debate began about what the best course of action that should be taken to defeat Morgana.

They went back and forth, discussing who's army should do what, and where each kingdom's troops should be positioned.

Arthur's uncle, Agraviane, was not helping matters either. He seemed to disagree with everything Arthur said, but in a way that made it sound like Arthur was wrong.

"But sire, wouldn't it be best if our army held back?" He suggested, and I thought I saw Queen Annis roll her eyes.

"No." I disagreed bluntly and all heads turned towards me. "Your highnesses. The moment we stop working together, we've already lost. We need to stop seeing ourselves as separate pieces, when we must come together as one and play to each other's strengths. I propose a new treaty. Let us unite our lands and become a symbol of hope to out people. They will be looking to us for leadership and the mightiest army in the world will be there to protect them. Let us unite our kingdoms to end the suffering caused by those who defy us." I finished and the room was silent.

"Well, I don't know about anyone else, but I can't argue with that." King Cheltcroft nodded.

"You are right." Queen Annis added thoughtfully, and even Agravaine stayed silent.

"…And what would you have us call this…United Kingdom?" Odin asked after a pause.

"Albion. The United Kingdom." I replied, remembering the name 'Albion' my mother had once used in an old bedtime story about an ancient prophecy.

"To Albion." Treila said beside me, smiling wistfully.

"To Albion." The rest of the table chorused.

With our new united kingdom, there was only on thing left to do, throw a banquet of course.

"Only one more day of council and then I must leave you again." Treila said as I sat on the bed in her chambers.

"Indeed, and then it's Christmas." I nodded, smoothing out the pleats of my off the shoulder red and green tartan gown.

"And I shall get my little niece." Treila grinned, appearing from out behind the screen in a gold and silver gown.

"Or nephew." I pointed out.

"No, you simply must have a girl." She insisted.

"It's not like I can just magically will it to be a girl." I pointed out.

"What does Arthur want?" She asked.

"I think he wants a girl, too." I answered as we left her chambers.

"You seemed unhappy when I mentioned Arthur." Treila said gently.

"He's worried. Afraid." I corrected. "He lost his mother during childbirth. I think he fears the same for me."

"You haven't asked him?" She asked.

"I don't need to. I know it." I answered as we reached the doors to the great hall.

"Know what?" Arthur asked, appearing beside me.

"Everything." I answered.

"How are you holding up?" He asked.

"Apart from feeling like I'm about to break in half? Fine." I replied.

"You're doing a magnificent job." He said, rubbing my shoulders.

As the doors opened, Arthur took my hand and together we walked up to the main table where we'd enjoy our banquet.

Throughout the night, I couldn't help but keep a close eye on Treila and Gwaine who seemed to be deep in conversation about something.

"You know, if you stare any harder, you'll bore a hole in the back of Gwaine's head." Arthur said, nudging me.

"Sorry, I'm the older sibling. It's my job to be nosey and over protective." I replied.

"Well one day, Uther may be in your shoes." He said proudly.

"Oh lord. Not this again." I sighed and looked around for someone who could take my side. "Merlin, please tell Arthur that no son of mine will _ever_ be called Uther." I said to the young warlock, standing just behind Arthur.

"Why ever not?" Arthur asked. "It was my Father's name."

"People will make fun of him." I said bluntly.

"My Father was a King." Arthur replied indignantly.

"Which is why no one made fun of him." I finished smartly.


	45. Chapter 45

"Goodbye." Treila sighed, hugging me tightly.

"See you soon." I replied. "We'll be back together in no time."

"Love you." She smiled before descending the front steps.

Hurried footsteps behind me gave way to a slightly ill looking Gwaine.

"Your highness. Before I lose my nerve, may I have your blessing to ask Treila to become my wife." He said breathlessly.

"…Uh, yes! Yes, of course!" I cried happily and a huge grin spread across his face.

"Thank you." He called over his shoulder as he ran down the steps after my sister and I clutched Arthur's arm excitedly.

I watched as he got down on one knee and Treila threw her arms around him.

"It's not even late morning and we've already had a full day." Arthur said beside me as Treila jumped up and down in excitement.

We turned to walk back in to the entrance hall, but something caught my eye at the far end of the courtyard. I man clad in all black was opening a side door to the citadel, the one that lead up to Gaius' physician chambers. Perhaps it was an old friend seeking advice, or an ill subject. Whatever the reason, I decided to think nothing of it.

As the sun rose higher in the sky, down in the markets, a commotion was spreading up from the lower town.

"What is it?" Arthur asked a man who seemed particularly upset about something as we made our way through the markets.

"It's…Gaius, your majesties." The man said, embarrassed.

"Gaius? What about Gaius?" Arthur asked.

"He's been charging us high prices for his antidotes all day. We've never had to pay him before." The man replied.

"That doesn't sound like Gaius." I said. "Perhaps we should talk to him."

"Indeed. Do not worry. We'll get to the bottom of this." Arthur promised, turning away from the man.

"Why would Gaius start asking people for money?" I asked as we made our way back up to the citadel.

"I have no idea." He replied, but trailed off as we entered the courtyard. From the same door the man earlier had accessed, a long stream of people were lined up, waiting for their turn to go inside.

"What's going on?" Arthur asked a woman in the cue.

"It's Gaius. He said he can heal us." She replied desperately.

"Heal you? From what?" I asked.

"Why the plague?" She replied, clearly shocked that I had no clue what she was talking about.

"We need to get to the bottom of this." I said to Arthur, and we made our way into the hall where the council had already gathered.

We took our places on our thrones and waited for Gaius' arrival. He soon walked in, humming happily.

"Gaius. What is this plague everyone's talking about?" Arthur asked.

"Why, the plague that's been sweeping through Camelot, of course." He replied.

"Why haven't we been notified?" Arthur continued.

"Oh, it's been very rapid. Yes, no time to talk." Gaius said quickly. He seemed to be jittering on the spot. It was at this point I realised that Merlin wasn't with him.

"Gaius, are you feeling alright?" I asked, watching as the old physician's eyes darted between Arthur and I.

"Me? Oh yes. Me, I'm perfectly fine…But what about you?" He asked, clasping his hands together.

"Me?" I asked.

"Yes, you fatty." He grinned impishly.

"Gaius!" Arthur cried, horrified. "How dare you?"

"Oh, do accept my apologies. It's been a very long day and I'm an old man who sometimes let's his tongue slip." Gaius stuttered quickly, bowing deeply. "But, do not fear, I can give you all an antidote against this plague."

"Really? And how fast can you have it by?" Arthur asked, still bristling.

"In a matter of hours." Gaius bowed deeply. "And once again, my most sincere apologies."

Gaius backed out of the room, and the rest of the council followed unsurely behind.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked Arthur once the room was empty.

"I don't know. And where's Merlin?" He added.

"I don't know. But before we get to the bottom of this, we can't trust him. Something's wrong." I said distantly. "Let's go find Merlin."


	46. Chapter 46

We walked through the citadel, but no one was to be found. I turned a corner into yet another sandstone corridor when I came across Lancelot, lying face down on the floor.

"Arthur!" I yelled, kneeling next to the knight as Arthur came running down the corridor.

"Is he…?" Arthur began.

"He's alive." I finished, feeling the pulse in his wrist. "Just, deeply asleep."

"Look, another one!" Arthur cried, pointing to the end of the corridor where a pair of feet were visible from around the turn.

As Arthur went to check on the courtier, I happened to glance down into the courtyard.

"Oh my…Arthur." I gasped and pointed. Unconscious townsfolk covered the ground of the courtyard and I could see the same sight down in the streets of the lower town.

"Do you think it could be the plague?" I asked nervously.

"I don't know. Come on." Arthur decided, and took my hand, leading me back to our chambers. "Stay inside and lock the door. I don't know what's going on but I need you and our child safe."

He pushed open the door, but sitting on the edge of the table was Gaius holding two small vials filled with green liquid.

"Gaius, what's going on?" Arthur asked, stepping in front of me.

"It's the plague. The cure has, a minor side affect. They just have to sleep it off." Gaius said, brushing aside our evident doubt.

"Anyway. Here are you antidotes. My lady, yours is a little different because you're with child." Gaius said gently and handed me the vial.

"Gaius, what's going on? Why are you acting so odd?" I asked and he sighed.

"You're not going to drink it unless you trust me, are you?" He asked bitterly. "Very well." He shrugged, and waved his hand.

I took a step back as his eyes glowed yellow. He was using magic.

"Arthur!" I cried in horror as my hand holding the vile lifted up to my mouth. I had no control over my movements.

"What are you doing? Stop!" Arthur demanded, unsheathing his sword. He lunged for me, trying to grab my hand, but it was no use, the magic was too strong and I tipped the contents of the vial into my mouth.

"Circa!" Arthur cried, stepping back as someone burst through the door.

"Don't drink it!" Merlin yelled, panic in his voice.

"What's going on? Who are you? What have you done with Gaius?" Arthur yelled, rounding on Gaius with his sword.

"It _is_ me. I am Gaius." He grinned, opening his arms to prove that it was him.

"Arthur, don't touch that vial, it's poison." Merlin instructed, nodding at the other vial.

"What?! Then what was in Circa's?" He asked and I shook my head, I didn't feel any different.

"Gaius has been enchanted." Merlin puffed, trying to get enough air to explain as the physician's eyes darkened. "He's been instructed to kill you, Arthur."

"By who?" Arthur asked and I went to look at Gaius, but suddenly an excruciating pain shot through me and I dropped the vial. The loud smash caused Arthur to spin around as I grabbed the wall nearby for stability.

"Circa! What is it?" Are you okay?" Arthur gasped, grabbing my arm to hold me upright as my knees buckled. My middle ached and I looked down to see my stomach swelling in front of my eyes. Just when I thought it would go on forever, it stopped at twice the size it was before.

"Circa? What did you do?" Arthur yelled at Gaius, who clapped his hands happily.

"Why, just sped up the process of course." He said.

"You are not helping." Merlin said, frustrated and waved his hand at the physician. His eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed against the chair.

"What did you do?" Arthur asked.

"It's alright. He's just unconscious. He can't cause any more trouble if he's like that." Merlin explained.

"Just, hang on a second." I gasped. "What is happening?"

"Someone has enchanted Gaius. I don't know whom. All I remember is coming into Gaius' chambers, and him throwing me across the room. I woke up and came straight here." Merlin began.

"I saw someone going up to Gaius' chamber this morning, but thought nothing of it." I recalled.

"That's odd. Only members of the council have access to that door." Merlin said.

"So, someone inside the council is responsible for this." I concluded.

"Okay, I get why they'd want to kill me, but why this?" Arthur asked, gesturing to my very pregnant self.

"This baby is the next heir to the throne." I thought. "So, if they killed you and sped up the pregnancy, which must mean they want the baby, they're trying to clear a path straight to the throne."

"And _who_ do we know that'll do anything to get to the throne?" Merlin sighed, shaking his head.

"Morgana." Arthur growled.

"So, someone within the council is working for Morgana." I concluded.

"But, why Gaius of all people to enchant?" Arthur asked.

"Because he's your most trusted member of the court, and he'd be able to get his hands on the baby, easily." I realised, the pieces fitting together in my head.

"So, you'd be all alone." Arthur said bitterly.

"It's okay. Morgana's plan has failed." I assured him.

"Except, you're not okay and most of Camelot seems to be in a deep sleep." Arthur sighed with frustration. "Merlin, is there anything you can do to fix any of this?"

"There may be something in Gaius' books. I'll bring them here." Merlin decided and hurried from the room.

"Circa, I'm so sorry." Arthur said, leading me over to a chair, which I was suddenly thankful for as a wave of dizziness swept over me.

"Don't do that. This is not your fault." I promised, taking his hand.

A short time later, the three of us were pouring over Gaius' books while he snored in the corner.

"Here." Merlin suddenly spoke up and pointed to something in one of the books. "The Gilly Flower. It reverses the effects of any potion or enchantment cast on someone in the last day."

"Then we have no time to lose. Where can we find it?" Arthur asked.

"The Valley of the Fallen Kings." Merlin answered.

"Then we leave immediately." Arthur said, leaping to his feet determinedly.

"Be careful." I said.

"I'll be back before you know it. I promise." He replied, kissing my head before he and Merlin left the room.


	47. Chapter 47

I paced back and forth as the hours ticked by. Gwen, thank goodness, was still conscious, so she'd joined me and had failed in her attempts to get me to sit down and rest, but I felt ill and uneasy.

"They've haven't got long." I said nervously, looking at the sun. "The day's almost over."

"They'll be here soon. Don't get anxious." She said sternly and I gave her a patronising look.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, two pairs of hooves could be heard clattering into the courtyard. I rushed to the window, just in time to see Arthur leap from his horse and run up the front steps. A few moments later, he burst into the chambers and marched straight over to me, taking my face in his hands and kissing me.

"I missed you too." I said as he backed away.

"Alright, Merlin. How do we do this?" Arthur asked.

"It says to just crush it, and when it's ground into a powder, put it above their top lips, just under their nose. As if they were smelling it." Merlin read from the book, and using the hilt of his sword, Arthur ground one of the leaves of the strange purple plant into a powder and sprinkled some under Gaius' nose.

For a few moments, nothing happened. But then there was a cough, and a splutter and suddenly, Gaius sat bolt upright, as still as a statue.

"Gaius?" Merlin asked warily.

The physician then seemed to deflate slightly.

"Merlin." He gasped suddenly. "What happened?"

"It's a long story, but we need your help." Merlin replied, and Gaius nodded blearily.

Once Gaius had recovered from his adventure, he went about curing Camelot of there fictitious plague.

"What a day." Arthur yawned that night at dinner. "I'm exhausted."

"It has been a very odd day." I said simply and Arthur laughed.

"Yes, very odd indeed." He finished.

At first I thought it was a sound that had awoken me that night. It must have been very early morning, for only the pre dawn light was glowing. Then I realised it hadn't been a sound at all, rather a sharp pain.

I sat up suddenly and clutched my side. Fear ran though me and I sat on the edge of the bed.

"Arthur." I groaned, doubling over in pain. "Arthur."

I tried to massage the pain away, but it came again, sharper this time.

"Arthur!" I said, louder and he stirred. I reached behind me and grabbed a pillow, shoving it against his head. He sat up suddenly and was quickly beside me.

"It's starting." I whispered, grabbing him. "I'm scared."

"There is nothing to be scared of. You can do this." Arthur said, pressing a kiss to my temple.


	48. Chapter 48

"Arthur!" I cried, clutching his hand as the pain rose again.

"You are almost there, your highness." Matron said gently, nodding at Gwen who was on my other side.

"Be strong." Arthur said, kissing my hair.

"Once more, my lady." Matron said and I squeezed my eyes shut as I gave it everything I had.

Suddenly, relief washed over me and I felt like I could breathe again. But there was no sound. No cry. Nothing.

"Matron?" I gasped.

Then, there was a tiny cough, a splutter and then an earsplitting cry, and I let out the breath I'd been holding in.

"Well done, Circa." Gwen grinned beside me, and she squeezed my hand.

"Congratulations, you have a daughter." Matron said, quickly handing me a small, bundle. I craned my neck to look amongst the blanket and a small, pink hand was thrust determinedly into the air.

"She is beautiful." Arthur said distantly as I held the tiny bundle in my arms and gazed down into the little face. "I'm so proud of you, my love."

After Gwen and Matron had made sure that both of us were in perfect health, they left the room and Arthur lay beside me, holding me in his arms while I held our daughter.

"Do you mind that she's a girl?" I asked.

"I think she is perfection." He replied. "Do you have a name for her?"

"You want me to name her?" I asked.

"You did all the hard work. The least I can do is let you choose her name." Arthur smiled.

"…Victoria." I decided.

"Queen Victoria." Arthur said. "It has a nice ring to it."

The bells from the citadel tower began to toll. Just one note, signaling the start of a service in the chapel. It was morning.

Music came floating up, through the open windows and into the still room. And then people began to sing.

 _Silent night, holy night. All is calm. All is bright._

"It's Christmas." I whispered. I had completely forgotten.

"So it is. Merry Christmas, Circa." Arthur said.

"Merry Christmas, Arthur." I smiled and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips.

 _Round yon virgin, Mother and child. Holy infant so tender and mild. Sleep in heavenly peace. Sleep in heavenly peace._

A little while later, Geoffrey of Monmouth came in to announce the birth of the newest royal to the people of Camelot. We were expected to join him on the balcony, so Gwen helped me to change into a simple, pale blue gown and I let my hair fall naturally, not feeling up to any elaborate styles today.

When the chapel bells rang out again, they all chimed in celebration and Geoffrey stood on the balcony of our chambers.

"Here ye! Here ye!" He cried, catching the attention of everyone in the courtyard leaving the chapel, at the market place and in the lower town.

"On this Christmas Day, Her Royal Highness, The Queen of Camelot was safely delivered of a daughter this early morning." He was interrupted by the cries of the people.

"Her Royal Highness and her child and both doing well." Geoffrey managed above the yells.

Gwen handed me Victoria and Arthur carefully guided me out to the balcony.

"With the deepest honor, may I introduce, Princess Victoria of Camelot." Geoffrey boomed and I stepped out into the Christmas sunlight and the crowds cheered.

Arthur and I waved down at the crowd, while Victoria stuck out a tiny hand, flapping it madly in the air.

"Her first royal wave." Arthur said excitedly.

"I think she'll be a natural." I grinned.


	49. Chapter 49

Once I was sure Victoria was sound asleep, I left her in the nursery before making my way down to the council chambers where a battle meeting was being held. As I walked in the door the room fell silent, as condescending eyes fell on me.

"Circa." Arthur greeted, walking over to me as the old council men continued to stare. "Is it wise to be out of bed, Gaius said at least a month."

"I'm not going to stay cooped up in that room a moment longer." I said.

"But, my lady, it is customary for a woman who has had a child to refrain from duties and care for her child." One of the councilmen said, looking down his nose at me.

"Well, I am not a woman. I am a Queen." I replied, my face set.

After a moment, he dipped his head and turned to the councilmen who eventually bowed and muttered a round of 'Your Majesty'.

"Honestly, they believe that just because I've had a child, I am suddenly incapable of doing anything." I fumed to Arthur after the council meeting.

"That's not true." Arthur sighed.

"Are you kidding? They've been doing it all week." I said angrily.

"They're just worried. They don't want you throwing yourself back into everything so suddenly." Arthur reasoned.

"Why are you siding with them? They're just a bunch of old men who can't stand having a mother be in charge of them." I finished as the door to our chambers opened and Agravaine appeared. I turned away to take a breath. Agravaine was the last person I wanted to see.

"My apologies." He said. "But I couldn't help overhearing, and I agree with Arthur. You haven't been the same since the birth of your child…"

"…Is this what you came here to talk about? Or were you just eavesdropping at the door?" I interrupted angrily.

"Circa." Arthur warned. "I'm sorry, uncle. What did you want to talk about?"

I glared at Arthur and then at Agravaine before storming through the door. Men!

I headed for the nursery, where Gwen was just changing the flowers in a pale vase near the window.

"My lady." She greeted. "What's the matter?"

"Being a woman is apparently what matters." I said, all of a sudden feeling very tired.

"The council?" She asked.

"The council." I nodded. "And Agravaine…And Arthur."

"Anything in particular?...If you don't mind me asking." Gwen continued as I sat down next to the cot where Victoria was playing with the silky corner of a blanket.

"I shouldn't get angry, but I want it to be like it was." I said thoughtfully, tickling Victoria's palm with one finger before she grabbed it with her little fist and held on tight. "And, with everything that's going on, I can't help but feel like a hindrance with her…" I said, nodding at my daughter. "…and, I don't know, maybe they're right; I should just be a mother, not a Queen."

I heard the door to the nursery click shut gently and Gwen quickly disappeared.

"Circa." I heard Arthur begin, but I didn't turn around. "I'm so sorry that everyone…including myself, haven't been there for you. There are no excuses, and you have never been and never will be a hindrance." He continued, resting his hands on my shoulders. "You have every right to get angry and who's to say you can't be a mother _and_ a Queen."

"I for one…" Arthur continued, picking up Victoria. "…would much rather spend a day with my family that those, what did you call them; "stupid old men" on the council."

"An apt description." I nodded, pretending that it was Arthur's statement, to which I highly agreed.

"Anyway…" He continued. "…what do you say to going away for a while?"

"Where?" I asked.

"Somewhere quiet, where we wouldn't be recognised, to take some time to ourselves." Arthur suggested, easing a small hand away from the tie on his jacket. "Just for a day or two where we can forget about Morgana, the traitor in the Council, … the council."

"What about Victoria?" I asked. "I don't like the idea of us not being here with all this."

"Don't worry. I know someone we can trust…and no. I wasn't about to say Agravaine." Arthur interrupted himself, after seeing my face. "One of the nurses nursed me when I was young. She'd love to have her…So, what do you say?"

"Okay." I decided.


	50. Chapter 50

The next morning I tied a small bag to the saddle of my horse as Arthur did the same. So as not to be recognised, Arthur had worn a simple pair of brown pants, a red shirt and belt. I wore a simple blue servants dress and brown belt. We were staying in a small village just outside Camelot and were dressed in a way that we would blend in with the farmers.

"Where are we going?" I heard the voice of Merlin ask from behind us.

"Merlin. We are just going away for a few nights." Arthur said slowly, trying to think of some other excuse.

"And you don't need me?" Merlin asked.

"Uh, no. Not this time." Arthur replied, casting a sideways glance at me and I suddenly became very interested in the tie on my saddle.

"Right." Merlin nodded slowly, before heading back up the stairs.

Before Arthur had to explain to anyone else where we were going, we rode out of the courtyard and headed for the small village of Eastwood. On the way, we stopped in a small clearing to have a picnic lunch. I watered the horses, while Arthur set out a blanket and a few cushions.

"Sometimes, I forget how beautiful Camelot is." Arthur said as we washed our hands at the edge of a small stream near the clearing.

"It is a beautiful place to have a picnic." I agreed.

"I'm famished." He added.

"Speaking of food, was that another hole I saw Merlin putting in your belt this morning." I said teasingly.

"Excuse me?" He asked taken aback. "I'm fighting fit!"

"Shall we find out?" I asked, flicking some drops at Arthur's face.

He looked indignantly at me, before dunking his whole hand and splashing a handful of water in my face. I wasted no time in doing the same before leaping up and sprinting back up the slope.

I heard Arthur close behind me as I ran through the trees. The picnic blanket was dead ahead and when I reached it, I turned around in triumph, ready to rub my win in his face. But, Arthur was closer than I thought, and he grabbed me around the waist tackling me onto the cushions. Arthur landed on top of me, his elbow hitting my chin.

"Sorry." Arthur grinned down at me and dipped his head, pressing his lips to the skin below my mouth. He then brought his lips up to mine and I took his face in my hands.

"Better?" He asked, backing away slightly.

"Almost." I replied with a grin before kissing him again.

When we reached Eastwood, it was late afternoon. We tied up the horses and set our bags down inside the simple, single roomed house.

"We often have travellers through here on their way to Camelot." The woman who owned the house next door said as she stood in the doorway. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."

"Thank you. You're very kind." I said to her. "Might I use your well?"

"Of course. Follow me." The woman said, and I followed her out, into the straw strewn street. In front of her house stood a sturdy well, and I lowered the bucket down to the water and filled a large jug with fresh water.

After thanking the woman, who also insisted on giving me a fresh loaf of bread, I made my way back to the small, wooden house. When I stepped over the threshold, the sight that met my eyes made my jaw drop.

Somehow, in the twenty minutes I'd been gone, Arthur had decorated the whole room with white Baby's Breath.

"Arthur! How?" I asked amazed.

"Always the tone of surprise." He grinned as I set down the bread and jug of water.

"Arthur, it's beautiful." I said, walking over to him. "My favourite flowers. You remembered." I smiled, linking my arms around his neck.

"Mmhmm." He nodded, setting his hands on my waist.

"Did you miss me?" I laughed.

"Mmm." He nodded, wrapping his arms around my waist, drawing me against him as he leant down and captured my lips in his. He held me lower and picked me up, walking back towards the low bed.


	51. Chapter 51

The next morning, Arthur and I sat on the bed eating slices of the bread the kind woman had given me the day before, which I'd toasted over the fire.

"There's something about fresh bread that, you'd ruin it if you put anything on it." Arthur said through a mouthful.

"Shocking manners." I laughed as a loud and very urgent knock came at the door.

Neither of us got up to answer it, not feeling like being bothered this morning. But the knocking came again, even more relentlessly than before.

"I'll get it." Arthur said, hopping off the bed and opening the wooden door. "Merlin? What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry, sire. But it's an emergency." I heard the voice of Merlin say and Arthur looked at me before holding the door open for his servant.

"I'm sorry, Milady." Merlin apologised.

"What's wrong, Merlin?" I asked patiently.

"It's Morgana and Cenred. They're in Camelot." He said.

"They brought an army?" Arthur asked, twenty minutes later as we saddled our horses for the ride back to Camelot.

"Yes." Merlin nodded.

We rode all the way back to Camelot at full pelt without stopping once. When we entered the lower town, Camelot's knights were battling with an army dressed all in black. There was no way we'd get up to the citadel through the mass of bodies, so we turned the horses and rode round to the back of the castle.

Arthur and I leapt from the saddles and ran up through the armory, grabbing swords and shields as we went. The castle was eerily quite, compared to the chaos and fighting outside.

"Morgana's here." Merlin said, glaring at the throne room ahead of us. "I can sense her magic."

I tightened the grip on my sword and walked into the throne room to see Morgana sitting in Arthur's throne with Cenred beside her, his foot resting on the second.

"Finally. We were beginning to think you no longer cared for Camelot." Morgana chided. "You should have let me know. I'd be happy to take it from you."

"That will never happen Morgana." Arthur assured her.

"Never say never." She smirked. "It was careless to leave with a traitor in your midst."

"You know who it is." Arthur growled. "Who!?" He shouted.

"Of course I know who it is." She laughed. "It's so hard to find people to trust these days." Morgana sighed, as someone walked through the side door.

Of course it was _him_. It made complete sense. He was the one who'd convinced Arthur to leave Camelot to let his army in.

"Agravaine." I spat. "I should've known."

"Yes, you should've. You were right to not trust me." He replied.

"How could you! What about my Mother, your sister?" Arthur shouted. "How could you betray her like that!"

"I'm tired of this. Cenred, bring her." Morgana interrupted, waving away Arthur's anger.

Cenred smirked and left the room.

"Circa, do you remember the Isle of the Blessed." Morgana began, rising from the throne. "Cast your mind back to the moment you sent my sister through the veil to the other world." She snarled, advancing on me, but I held my ground. "You have no idea what it feels like to have your family ripped from you…but I have found someone who will do the job quite adequately."

She turned as Cenred walked back into the room, carrying Victoria, who was sound asleep in his arms.

"No!" Arthur yelled, and ran towards Morgana, but she waved her hand and he was sent flying across the room smashing into the wall and crumpling at it's base.

I lunged for Agravaine and grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulling him back towards me as I pressed the edge of my sword against his neck.

"Let her go. Now." I growled. "Or he dies."

"You wouldn't really kill an unarmed man." Morgana asked.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that." I replied, walking slowly towards her. Once I was close enough to take her by surprise, I heaved Agravaine at her and he knocked her to the ground. I ran at Cenred, but Morgana was fast, and shot her hand out towards me.

Something wrapped around my waist, and I was pulled backwards, off my feet and I slammed against a pillar. Thick vines wrapped around me, binding me to the hard stone.

"Now you get to watch as your family is ripped from your arms." Morgana snarled, her face inches from mine, and she pulled out a small dagger. She pressed it into my cheek, slashing a gash across my face before laughing and turning towards Cenred and my daughter.

"Not today, Morgana." Merlin said quietly by the door to the throne room.

Behind him stood the knights of the round table, they're cloaks bloody and their faces weary, but filled with fire.

Merlin's eyes glowed yellow as he glared at Cenred who suddenly stumbled backwards. Victoria had disappeared from his arms.

I looked back to Merlin in alarm, but he had her safely in his arms. His eyes glowed once more and he muttered an incantation before gold smoke engulfed him and he vanished.

The knights advanced on Agravaine, Cenred and Morgana.

"You will never threaten my future niece again." Gwaine threatened, pointing his sword at Cenred.

"This isn't over." Morgana cried, and both she and Cenred disappeared in a cloud of black smoke, leaving Agravaine alone in the room with no friends for miles.

As soon as Morgana was gone, the vines loosened and I dropped to the ground.

"My lady?" Lancelot said as he helped me to my feet.

"I'm alright." I replied, wiping the blood off my face with my sleeve.

Percival picked up Arthur, who was still heroically unconscious and carried him towards our chambers.

"Circa." A relieved Merlin sighed as he hurried through door with Victoria still in his arms.

I quickly took her from him and looked down at her little face to make sure she was unharmed.

"There could be a war going on and she'd still sleep through it." Elyan said and I couldn't help but laugh with relief.

"Merlin. What would we do without you?" I said honestly.

"That's what I've been trying to tell him from the start." Merlin grinned, nodding at Arthur.

"You truly are a blessing." I said, putting a hand on his shoulder.


	52. Chapter 52

When Arthur had woken from his beauty sleep, we brought the knights of the round table together and counted our losses.

"They marched under Morgana's command, but it wasn't just men we'd faced, there was sorcery." Gwaine said.

"How so?" I asked.

"The men seemed like they were in a trance." Elyan said. "And there were so many of them. I do not know how they amassed such an army."

"I'm afraid we do." I replied, looking at Gwaine and Percival, and they bowed their heads. "She must've found the stone."

"What stone?" Lancelot asked.

"Morgana was searching for a stone that, when crushed into a power and drunk, it grants the drinker control over anyone they speak to. That's how they created their army. By enchanting the people to do their bidding." I explained.

"So, how do we stop them?" Arthur asked.

"Well, I assume like most enchantments, to break it, the caster must be destroyed." I guessed and Gaius nodded.

Silence fell around the table as everyone thought of what had happened, and what was still to come.

But we couldn't just sit here, we had to make a plan.

"I know what we must do." I said, getting everyone's attention. "We need to stop avoiding the inevitable and put a stop to this once and for all. While their army is damaged, before they can recruit anymore and while they're retreating, we should go after them. It's time we go on the attack instead of waiting for the fight to come to us.

They won't expect it. We need to bring the army of Albion together now and take advantage of the fact that we now have the upper hand."

"A good man never seeks out war." Arthur pointed out.

"The war has already started. It's time that we accept that. We need to go on the offensive now and end this before more lives on both sides are lost." I replied, and looked round the table. "I say we take the fight to them now, while they're still licking their wounds. This may be the best chance we have."

"You're right." Arthur nodded. "The war has begun and it's time we be ready for it."

Arthur motioned for Merlin to come forward with a handful of maps, which he placed in the center of the table.

"To return to Cenred's kingdom, the army will have to cross the White Mountains, and then after that the land is flat and we cannot confront them there. There is a long valley before the mountains surrounded by high cliffs. We can surround them and then box them in from in the valley itself." Arthur said, pointing at a narrow pass before the White Mountains.

"Send word to the rest of Albion. We meet at the entrance of the valley." I said and a servant bowed before leaving the room.


	53. Chapter 53

It was early morning when every last knight of Camelot was ready in the courtyard. Arthur was in his full battle armour and I wore chainmail with a belt around my waist, which held the insignia of Ivistor.

I had figured that now was as good a time as any to fully embrace my new life in Camelot, so I wore the bright red cloak of the Kingdom around my shoulders with the crest embroidered in gold on the back.

I had braided my hair and knotted it at the back of my head in a bun and I sheathed my sword before walking over to the crib where Victoria was finally awake at the time she was supposed to be.

"Now, you be good while Mother and Father are away." I told her, lifting her up and settling her in my arms. "Gwen's going to take very good care of you and I don't want you to give her any trouble, okay?"

"And Father promises that when he gets back, he'll buy you your own sword." Arthur added, coming over to me as I looked out the window into the courtyard below. He took Victoria from me and lifted her above his head.

"Listen to your Mother. Be good." He said sternly and she cackled happily.

"I don't think she takes me seriously." Arthur said and I laughed.

After one final goodbye to Victoria, we made our way down the steps of the palace.

"Today…we do battle. Today, we end this war. We end a war as old as the land itself. War against tyranny…and greed…and spite. Each and every one of you fights with honour and with pride. For not only do we fight for our lives…we fight for the future. The future of Camelot… For the love of Camelot!" Arthur shouted.

"For the love of Camelot!" Camelot's army shouted back and their echoes bounced off the stone walls and flooded down into the streets where cheers and cries were sent back to meet them from the people in the town.

And so we rode out of the Citadel, through the towns and did not stop until we reached the valley where we'd make our final stand.

Arthur and I rode to the front of the large army that had already begun amassing itself, lead by Queen Treila of Ivistor, Queen Annis of Odinsland, King Cheltcroft of Berwick and King Odin of Sherwood.

"We are ready." Annis said, placing a strong hand on Arthur's shoulder. "We will follow your orders."

"You'll have to follow her's." Arthur replied, nodding at me. "This is her army and her plan."

"So, no pressure then." I smiled.

"Exactly." Arthur grinned.

"Our scouts have come back to report that Morgana and Cenred are entering the narrowest part of the valley as we speak. If we are to strike. Now is the time." Treila said.

I took a deep breath and turned my horse around, so that I faced the army of thousands. I stood up in my saddle so I could he seen.

"Armies of Albion! This is the day that will be written into history forever. Today is the day we stand up and fight for all those who have lost family, friends and their livelihoods. Today we fight for the future. The future of Albion. The Future of the United Kingdoms.

For Albion!" I yelled, and raised my sword in the air.

"For Albion!" A huge wall of voices came back to me and my horse moved nervously beneath me, startled by the cacophony.

The armies then separated and moved to their locations. Berwick had a strong Viking bloodline, so King Cheltcroft's army were ideal in the valley with their giant knights to block Morgana's way. However, what they lacked in agility, the knights of Camelot could make up for. With their speed and skills with a sword, they were perfect to flank the rear of the army.

Meanwhile, the army of Cornwall could scale anything and were masters with any weapon, so they were to conceal themselves amongst the boulders and rocky cliffs to attack from the sides. King Odin's Sherwood archers were equal to none, so they made their way up the steep cliffs on either side of the valley.

Finally, all of Ivistor's army were both soldiers and sorcerers, so they dispersed themselves into the other armies.

"It is a good plan." Queen Annis nodded as we watched Sherwood's army ascend the cliffs with ease. "If I ever go into battle again, I'd want you by my side."

"Thank you, your Highness." I smiled.

"Everyone's in position." King Cheltcroft said as he rode over to us. "They await your signal."


	54. Chapter 54

I stood on the cliff looking down into the valley, surrounded by Sherwood's army with Treila beside me. I waited for Morgana and Cenred's army to appear round the corner, and sure enough a few minutes later the first men appeared.

I was standing at the edge of a sharp bend and I looked down to the other side of the valley where the Army of Berwick were ready and waiting.

Once the first few soldiers were ready to round the bend, I picked up a bow and arrow. An archer lit a fire and I dipped the oil soaked tip into the flames.

I aimed it up into the sky, and closed my eyes before letting it fly. It soared high into the air, and a moment later a loud roar came from Berwick's army and the first of Morgana's army froze as a swarm of huge Viking's surged around the corner.

"Fall back!" Someone from the army yelled, and they turned and ran back down the valley, only to be met with Camelot's knights.

"Go." I said and stepped back as Sherwood's archers moved to the edge of the cliffs and began raining down fire on the army.

The Army of Cornwall melted away from the cliffs and began cutting down men who were trying to scale the cliffs to escape.

I moved away from the archers and ran towards a small path that we'd cut so we could get up and down from the cliffs. However, some of Morgana's army had found it, and I swung my sword at three men who had made their way up to the cliff.

"Look out!" I heard a cry from behind me, and I turned to see a black clad man running towards me with an axe. However, I barely had time to raise my sword when he shuddered and fell flat on his face. As he dropped, I saw Treila standing behind him and a dagger sticking out of his back.

"What would you do without me?" She asked, wiping the blood off the dagger.

"You're dead." A growling voice came from the top of the path, and a furious Cenred appeared, pulling two long swords out from behind the holster on his back.

Treila and I raised our swords, ready to face him.

He roared and lunged at us, swinging both swords at once. We dodged out of the way together and then swung at him. he turned towards me and brought both swords down onto me, and I raised my own , using all my strength to hold him away. Treila swung at his leg, but he dropped one of his arms and stopped her.

While she pushed down on Cenred, he forced his sword down on me and we were locked in a battle of strength.

"Now!" Treila yelled, and I knew what she meant. I dropped my sword and rolled out of the way. With nothing holding up his weight, Cenred stumbled forward and Treila forced his hand, knocking the sword out of his hand with his foot.

I scrambled for my sword as Cenred readied himself again at the edge of the cliff. Treila roared and ran towards him, but he was ready and grabbed her shoulder, shoving her over the edge of the cliff.

"No!" I cried and lunged forward, throwing myself towards the edge and somehow I caught her wrist. She slammed into the face of the cliff, but I had her.

"Circa!" She cried.

I felt the tip of a sword press against the back of my neck, and in that moment I didn't have a clue what to do. If Cenred killed me, then I'd drop Treila. If I let Treila fall and face Cenred, my sister would die by my hand.

It was then that I heard scrambling at the top of the path and Merlin appeared. I looked at him in desperation and he nodded.

"Do you trust me?" I panted from trying to hold onto my sister.

"Yes." She nodded, panic in her voice.

I half smiled, half grimaced as I stared at her and then let go of her wrist. As she fell, I turned to Cenred who was about to bring his sword down on me. I lifted my blade and put all my strength to keeping him from bringing is down.

'Come on Treila.' I begged in my head.

"Goodbye, your Highness." He grinned, and put all his weight into his arms.

"Goodbye." A voice came from behind him, and suddenly he was sent flying over my head and down, into the valley bellow. He gave one final roar before he hit the ground.

"That was one almighty kick." I sighed as Treila pulled me to my feet.

"Well, when you get dropped down a cliff you do have quite a lot of adrenaline to get rid of." She replied.

"Thanks to Merlin." I replied and nodded at the young sorcerer.

I looked down into the valley. There wasn't much left of the army, but I could see Arthur facing Morgana by the side of the cliff.

"He's no match for her magic." I said as his sword flew from his hands and Morgana advanced on him.

"I have an idea." Merlin said and grabbed Cenred's discarded sword. His eyes glowed yellow and he muttered a long incantation. The sword suddenly glowed a bright white and I had to shield my eyes from the glow.

"What did you do?" Treila asked.

"Enchanted it. Whomever it touches will destroy them immediately. Just a scratch will do." Merlin replied. "We need to get this to Arthur."

"Go." I said to him as more men found their way up the cliff path. "Run!" I yelled as he paused.

Merlin turned and ran towards the King as Treila and I readied ourselves once more. We cut down soldiers as they came. When there was a lull in them coming over the edge, I called to Treila and we picked up one of the men and carried him over to the start of the steep path.

"Three, two, one." I counted and we swung the man down the path, knocking down the next group who were on their way up.

I happened to glance into the valley and I saw Merlin throw his sword to Arthur, who was pressed against the cliff by Morgana. The sword landed in his hand, and he kicked Morgana away, before slashing the sword against her arm.

She cried out in pain and grabbed her arm as Arthur stared in confusion. She look up at him with hatred in her eyes as the gash on her arm glowed white and suddenly her arms flew open and she exploded into a cloud of white dust.

An eery silence fell over the valley, as members of her remaining army shook their heads in confusion and tried to take in the chaos all around them.

The enchantment was broken, Morgana and Cenred were dead.

It was over.


	55. Chapter 55

**Chapter 55 – Three Years Later**

"Mama! Mama!" A loud voice came from the hallway to our chambers.

"Quick! Under the bed." I said hurriedly to Arthur and we both hurriedly shoved two boxes of gifts under the bed and leapt to our feet as Victoria came running into our chambers.

"Mama! It's snowing!" She cried.

"It always snows at Christmas, silly." William said as he followed her in. He pushed his sister out of the way so he could look out into the white courtyard. "Can we please go outside?" He begged.

"Only if you let me comb your hair." I said, and picked up the comb. He stood still as I combed his blonde hair. That was the only different between him and his sister. Victoria had long, curly brown hair like me and William's was blonde like Arthur's. However, all three of our children shared our blue eyes.

"And where is Elizabeth? Did you leave her with Gwen again?" Arthur asked, wondering where our youngest was.

"She wouldn't sit still for Gwen and we wanted to play in the snow." Victoria said reasonably.

"Don't worry, she's here." A voice came from the doorway, and Gwen came in, holding the hand of little Elizabeth.

"Mama can we _please_ go in the snow!?" Victoria demanded.

"Yes, yes. Get your coats and we can go down to the snow." I laughed.

"Auntie Treila's here!" William squealed from the window as a carriage pulled into the courtyard.

He and Victoria flew out of the room with Elizabeth trying to catch up to them. I grabbed my coat and followed them out, scooping Elizabeth up on the way before she reached the steps, which still needed some practice.

Arthur caught up to me before I left the entrance hall. "I'll finish the great hall. They'll be too distracted to know anything." He said in my ear and kissed my cheek before disappearing through the large, oak doors.

"Sofia and Camile are here too!" William bounded around in the snow in front of me as the carriage door opened and two identical twins tumbled out into the snow, followed by their parents.

"It's so good to see you." I said to Treila as she pulled on her coat. Gwaine stepped out of the carriage and immediately had to pick up Sofia who had fallen face first into the snow.

"Sofia, do try to stay on your feet." He said to her.

"Yes, Papa." She replied, her feet already moving before Gwaine put her back down on the ground.

Treila had named Sofia after our Mama, and Camile was the name of Gwaine's own Mother.

"Merry Christmas." Treila said, pulling me into a hug.

"Now, Children." I called to the five young royals. "There is a surprise for you all waiting in the great hall."

In a flash they were all jittering excitedly outside the hall where Gwen and Lancelot were waiting.

"Lady Gwen." Sofia and Camile bounded around her as Lancelot took her hand. They'd recently been married and my nieces were still buzzing about being flower girls.

"Now wait here." I said, opening the door a crack. "And no peaking." I added, before slipping inside.

My jaw dropped when I turned to see the hall. Around the outside of the hall stood sixteen tall, green Christmas trees, covered in red and silver decorations. Under each tree was a pile of presents and the round table had been converted into a large dinner table.

I pulled off my coat and smoothed out my red and green tartan dress as I turned in a circle, taking in al the candles and decorations.

"Oh Arthur! It's beautiful." I said, as he hung a final decoration on one of the trees.

"One tree for everyone. And yes, Sofia and Camile have one each." He replied proudly, admiring his work. "Are they outside?"

"Yes…Arthur. It's magical." I said, taking his hand and kissing him.

"Shall we?" He asked, picking up a silver bell and I grinned.

He ran it and we listened out for the excited voices as the door were pushed open and five children ran in, followed by Treila and Gwaine, Lancelot and Gwen, the knights, Merlin and Gaius.

"Woah!" The children all chorused together and raced to find their trees.

"Arthur, I didn't know you had it in you." Gwaine grinned, clapping his friend on the back as he marveled at the decorations.

The next hour was filled with excited squeals as the children and adults alike unwrapped their presents. Arthur had given William a wooden sword, and after giving up on getting any sort of reaction from his sisters when he pointed it at them, announced that out of all the knights Percival was his favourite and only wanted him to teach him how to wield it.

Christmas dinner soon followed and by the time night fell everyone was weary. The children all sat together on cushions in the middle of the room, playing with their toys, while the Merlin, Gaius and the knights reclined around the table. Treila and Gwen were talking about their favourite subject, gowns and Arthur and I sat on one of the low seats, listening to the carol service that was being held in the church.

As the choir sang Silent Night, I curled my legs up on the seat and took Arthur's hand, pulling it around my shoulders so I could lean against him.

I took in the scene around me. It was perfect. After all these long, trying years, we could celebrate the peace we had achieved, both in the Great War and in magic. Two years ago as King, Arthur had legalized the use of light magic in Camelot, and the kingdom was closer and stronger than ever.

The great hall was peaceful and I imagined all the towns of Albion enjoying their Christmas night with their families and friends, no longer having to live in fear.

"Merry Christmas, Arthur." I whispered.

"Merry Christmas, Circa."


End file.
